Deportivo La Coruña 0-1 Atlético Madrid: Player Ratings

Jan Oblak (7.5): A good day for Oblak, although he did bring on a few scares for himself. Most of Deportivo La Coruña’s shots were from distance, and none particularly troubled him.

Juanfran (7): Another decent performance for Juanfran, who can hopefully continue to adapt his game as his stamina level tail off toward the end of matches. Ideally, Juanfran would be Atlético Madrid’s backup right back, and it would be best if he was in good form since Šime Vrsaljko’s fitness is questionable.

Diego Godín (8): Nothing too difficult for Godín today. Most of the trouble came when pacy wingers like Zakkaria Bakkali got involved, but Lucas Pérez did not trouble him too much.

Stefan Savić (7): Not bad from Savić, though he was in trouble early with a yellow card. The Montenegrin contributed across the board with defensive actions, making interceptions and tackles at crucial times.

Lucas Hernandez (7.5): Lucas had a little trouble defensively at times, a rarity for him. He got turned inside out in the first half, but managed to recover and make an important challenge in the box. Lucas was also active getting forward, as Diego Simeone expects his fullbacks to do.

Saúl Ñíguez (7): Simeone isn’t making things easy for Saúl when he plays with four central However, he did manage to get quite a few shots off, mostly from range, where he’s known for doing damage.

Thomas Partey (9 – MMOTM): Thomas is well and truly out of the early season funk he found himself in. Thomas provides so many different options to Atlético’s midfield with his range of passing, defensive contribution and a new ability to strike the ball and score cleanly from distance. He really lightened up a drab match by scoring a bit of a throwback goal, with Gabi rolling the ball from a free kick that Thomas promptly smashed into the net.

Gabi (7.5): One of Gabi’s best performances this season. He did a good job breaking up Depor attacks, and his drive and distribution was crucial late in the match.

Augusto Fernández (6): Not a great day for Augusto, but that’s to be expected in his first start since last September. Probably for the best that he got 60 minutes under his belt. His best moment was a super volleyed attempt from the edge of the area, but Costel Pantilimon had it covered. A fit Augusto moving forward would make a huge difference.

Antoine Griezmann (7): Another quiet day for Griezmann, who only managed one shot against 16th-place Depor. His best moment by far was a sensational bit of close control and a pass to Correa which was too good and caught him off-guard.

Ángel Correa (5.5): Ángel had a stinker Saturday, which is disappointing considering his form so far this season. Simeone took him out at halftime; hopefully this is just a blip for a very talented player.

Subs

Nico Gaitán (6.5): More of an extended cameo than normal for Gaitán, who came on at the half. He was involved in the game, making passes (not completing enough) and trying to make things happen. Gaitán has been quite good at getting fouled lately, as he was downed several times in this match.

Kévin Gameiro (6): Nothing to write home about for Gameiro, who really did not impact the match in the way Simeone hoped. Thankfully it did not matter, but Atlético’s strikers are struggling mightily to impress.

José Giménez (6): The Simeone Special: taking off a striker with ten minutes to go in a game you’re losing to bring on a center back. Yeah, this one is confusing. It’s a good thing that Joséma is getting minutes, but the timing of the substitution was odd, given Atleti were not winning at that point.