Atlético Madrid 1-1 Girona: Player Ratings

Jan Oblak (7): There was not a lot for Jan Oblak to do today, with the Slovenian only making two saves. Had perhaps one of his most interesting moments for Atleti came in the 90^th minute, when Oblak leveled a hit on Olunga to prevent a counter-attack, and picked up a booking. Even though he could not keep a clean sheet today, he still showed his class.

Šime Vrsaljko (7): Struggled a bit for passing today, but overall played well, especially on defense. Vrsaljko has been vital to the team’s resurgence, though this was not his best game.

Stefan Savic (6.5): Overall did a fine job, particularly in the last ten minutes of the match, when Atleti had to do some rather desperate defending. Savic had a bad day out against Sevilla, but was better today.

José Giménez (7): On his birthday, Josema put in another solid performance at center back. There were a couple moments of flashback to the old Josema when he took exception to a challenge by a Girona player. It’s impossible to question Giménez’s commitment to the team, and the more playing time he gets the better.

Lucas Hernández (8): Another very strong performance at left back for Lucas, who completed over 90% of his passes, while also being effectively active defensively. Though it’s certainly not his favored position, with Filipe picking up another injury, he’ll be required to play at left back for a little while longer.

Saúl (7.5): Captain for the day Saúl started in central midfield alongside fellow academy graduate Thomas Partey. The pairing suited Saúl, who is in a bit of a slump at the moment, but even when he’s not at his best Saúl can really pull the strings for Atleti. He struggled a bit with losing possession, and has in previous games, and needs to be a bit more careful in possession.

Thomas (8): Again proving to Cholo that he is a potential starter for Atleti, and works alongside Saúl. Thomas was exceptionally strong in tackles along with winning and retaining possession. It was his beautiful ball that started the move in which Antoine Griezmann scored. In so many situations, Thomas can use one of his strengths to get out of trouble, and in this game found great success bursting through the Girona’s line with his speed before getting his head up to locate a pass.

Yannick Carrasco (6): An unfortunate opportunity missed by Carrasco show his class as a starter, and could not really take hold of this match. His dribbling was largely ineffective, and got just one shot on target. It seemed as if he would benefit from being a more natural lineup, but that was not the case and Carrasco struggled with his chance.

Ángel Correa (6): Atleti have struggled for wide players this year, and though he started so well, Correa has struggled mightily in recent weeks. He has a similar problem to Saúl in that he gives up possession too often. Like Carrasco, he had the one shot on target. Where exactly Corra was playing is up for debate, as he drifted wide as well as to the center of the pitch.

Antoine Griezmann (8): A very strong display from Antoine today, who looks like he may be finding some form. He was hugely involved in Atleti’s attack, benefitting greatly from playing off Diego Costa. His goal was excellently taken, striking the header from Diego Costa so cleanly to find the back of the net. Outside of scoring, Griezmann was great with his passing, completing 90% of his attempted passes.

Diego Costa (8.5): The ultimate warrior again showed what he can offer a team outside of goals. Costa sacrificed his body to set up a tap-in for Antoine Griezmann. Costa was taken off early, which in a way came back to hurt Atleti, as he could have been useful in finding a late winner. The thinking is that he’s being rested for Sevilla, but in this match it did not look like the best decision.

Subs:

Vitolo (5.5): Not the best performance off the bench for Vitolo, who never really got involved in a major way in his 10-minute cameo. Nothing to worry about, it might have been better to introduce him earlier so he could have had more impact.

Koke (6): Koke performed well off the bench, but creating chances was not really what Atleti needed, as the attack fizzled in the second half. As usual, Koke completed nearly all of his passes, as well as getting one shot off.

Gameiro (6): Did not offer very much in the place of Diego Costa, completing just 75% of his passes, and registering no shots in half an hour’s work. Not the impact Cholo was looking for, and Gameiro will have to make better use of these opportunities.