RCD Mallorca 1-0 Atlético Madrid: Player Ratings

Oblak

Made his 279th league appearance, two more than longtime teammate Diego Godín. Had to do better on Antonio Sánchez’s long-range shot 15 minutes in — Oblak spilled the rebound, Nahuel Molina lost out on a duel, and Vedat Muriqi easily tapped in the opener. His stop on Amath late in the second half kept the Rojiblancos alive. 3.5

Molina

His 11th appearance in LaLiga since moving to Madrid, all starts. Lost out in an individual duel with Antonio Raillo that led directly to Jaume Costa setting up Muriqi’s goal. Booked for a bad tackle on Lee Kang-In after a sloppy ball loss in the attacking third. Hauled off after half an hour. —

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Savić

As bruising and confrontational as you’d like, probably quite enjoyed his battle with Muriqi. Finished with a couple clearances and a couple headers won, but he had another challenging evening. 3.5

Felipe

In for the suspended José Giménez, his first Atlético Madrid appearance since the Sept. 18 loss to Real Madrid. Handed a tough matchup against big forward Muriqi — who predictably bullied him, and needed only 16 minutes to escape his watch and tap in the opening goal. The rest of his performance Wednesday followed a similar path. 1

Reinildo

Teased a couple nice crosses in the first half but lacked the technical quality to plant one in the penalty area. Typically sturdy defensive outing for him, with a couple fouls but a team-high five tackles. 5

De Paul

A poor fit as the “conductor.” In between sloppy touches and ball losses, he lofted a gorgeous pass into the penalty area for Álvaro Morata to equalize in the first half, but the forward had strayed offside. Like former Udinese teammate Molina, he too brought down Lee Kang-In in exchange for a first-half yellow card. Reduced to wayward long-range shots after halftime. 3

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Witsel

The Belgium midfielder has been a model of consistency — he’s such an intelligent player positionally, good in the air (four headers won), and his passing figures have been as accurate as advertised (91 percent on Wednesday). But the 34-year-old’s lack of pace and creativity sticks out like a sore thumb in a midfield that has been missing those qualities all season. That’s not his fault, of course — blame the board. 6

Llorente

His second game back from injury. Genuinely had not noticed him until he won a free kick from a “dangerous” position late in the opening half. Is he now a better full-back than a midfielder? 4

Carrasco

Another longtime Belgium international, perhaps the most obvious “saving himself for the World Cup” case in the team. Carrasco has appeared completely disconnected for most of the season and had just one tame shot on target in the first half, when Atlético needed him to create his own offense. To his (slight) credit, he did put in some work defensively. But that’s not the point, is it? 2

Griezmann

The longtime France international spent most of the first half far away from the penalty area and took just 18 touches in the first 45 minutes. Helped keep attacking moves ticking in the second half once he got on the ball more, including two late chances for Morata. Credited with five key passes by night’s end, and one of a handful to show any personality. 6

Morata

Spain’s starting center-forward had the ball in the net on 21 minutes but strayed offside — for the third time in the first half. He had a golden opportunity to equalize in the 81st minute, but he hit an awkward header into goalkeeper Predrag Rajković from about four yards out. Five minutes later, Rajković parried away his close-range sliding volley.

What makes Morata such an enticing yet frustrating player is you never know which one you’re going to get. Wednesday’s Morata, playing 10 days before the start of the World Cup, was the bad one. 3

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Correa

Entered for Molina in the 29th minute. Has been out of form in recent weeks but is still Cholo Simeone’s first or second option off the bench. Atlético switched to a 3-5-2/3-4-3 when Correa came on, and he was on the ball a lot in the second half, but he has neither scored nor assisted a goal in nine games. 4

Lemar

Entered for Carrasco in the 59th minute. It’s a shame Simeone doesn’t feel he can trust Lemar due to his injury history, because the ball moves quicker with him on the pitch and he’s so adept at exploiting half-spaces left to him. He was needed from the start — Atlético’s job picking the Mallorca lock got harder after the opening goal went in. 5

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Koke

Entered for de Paul in the 69th minute. Another one making his return from an injury layoff, the captain solidified Atlético’s midfield immediately, which practically eliminated all the first-half ball losses. Here’s hoping he returns healthy from Qatar. 5.5

Sergio Reguilón

Entered for Reinildo in the 69th minute, making his Atlético debut. The Tottenham loanee looked to cut outside when he had the opportunity and drew three fouls in only 20 minutes. Encouraging. 5