SD Huesca 0-3 Atlético Madrid: Player Ratings

Jan Oblak (8): Just the three saves on Sunday for Oblak. Another clean sheet for the Slovenian is a nice bonus, too.

Santiago Arias (8.5): It’s been said before, but surely now this is the turning point for Arias to start all important matches for Atlético Madrid rather than Juanfran. Even without the goal, Arias has shown that he is capable of producing both offensively and defensively.

Diego Godín (7.5): In the ceremonial Uruguay CB partnership, Godín looked good with some young legs to do the running for him. Of the two, Godín was the only one to win a tackle, which shows perhaps how limited Huesca were.

José Giménez (7.5): At long last we have Giménez back and looking quite good in a central role. What is most important now is that Joséma continues with a lengthy run in the team, which will come only if he can remain fit.

Lucas Hernández (8.5): It was a big day for Atlético defenders, started off by Lucas who scored his first-ever Atleti goal in the 31^st minute. After some neat play on the right side, the ball was worked into Koke who assisted Lucas with a low cross at the back post.

Thomas Lemar (7.5): Though he did not officially register a goal or an assist, Lemar created three key passes and had two shots on target. What will be a problem for Lemar and Diego Simeone is the four times he was dispossessed, which led the team. This is a good start to amending his poor form, though — in what has been a difficult period for Lemar, Saturday was a good day among some relative stinkers in recent weeks.

Thomas Partey (7.5): Yet again another solid, if unspectacular performance for Thomas, Going forward he provided an option, but not much more than that. Defensively he stood out, with four tackles, two clearances and two interceptions.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Rodri (7.5): Another very good day for Rodri, who controlled things at the base of midfield alongside Thomas. That pairing has very high defensive upside, if a little lacking going forward. Rodri came out at a “paltry” 86 percent passing by his standards, but won four headers and lots more recoveries.

Koke (9): This match summed up Koke’s importance to Atlético this season as well as in the club’s history. The 27-year-old made his 400^th appearance, leaving him just 17 appearances short of Gabi’s seventh place all-time, and four short of Fernando Torres. It’s hard to comprehend how many matches Koke has played for a player still in his prime years, but Saturday showed why he has played so many games. First, a great assist for Lucas that opened the scoring, and the third goal which killed off any chance of a Huesca comeback. Koke was taken off a minute after his goal for youngster Victor Mollejo, capping what was an excellent day.

Antoine Griezmann (8): It may not be obvious right away, but Griezmann was pretty unlucky at El Alcoraz. He had four shots and three key passes and set up Arias’ goal with a sensational far-post cross through the fog. It’s rare for Atlético to score more than once and win without Griezmann being involved heavily, but something that will be necessary in this second half of the year.

Ángel Correa (8): Despite playing quite well — he matched Griezmann’s three key passes — Correa has struggled to produce alongside Griezmann and vice versa. The two put up good stats, but can’t seem to generate any of the kind of chemistry that Griezmann-Costa can.

Subs: Mollejo for Koke (72’); Montero for Lucas (86’); Joaquín for Lemar (90’)

Considering the three subs were youth players who combined for all of two completed passes, there is not a lot to report here. Mollejo got the longest run out and incidentally was the one to complete the two passes, in addition to having a shot blocked. It was a good day for the academy, then, with five youth players adorning the bench and three getting time.