Can we please introduce a new rule?
Teams are not allowed to play without a striker. It's bad for that team, it's bad for the match that is about to take place and it's bad for football.
Simple.
Atletico Madrid probably have the best group of attack-minded midfielders in Europe. Players who have the ability to find space where others can't.
These guys are smart, make intelligent runs off the ball, all have the ability to dribble in tight spaces, can create their own shots and score amazing long-rangers like Saul did against Barcelona.
But as good as they are, this is football. You can't tell these players to go out onto the pitch and play Barcelona without a recognised frontman.
That is insane.
Granted, if I was Simeone and I saw that my only two options to play in that position were Gameiro and Torres, then I would have done the same thing.
They are now seasoned Bricks.
But on further thought, I'd have still closed by eyes and just randomly picked one of them. The idea being that I just want them to occupy that space and act as a conduit for my attacking midfielders.
There is a football structure that is needed to be competitive in a match. One important piece to that structure is the existence of your point at the very top of your team. The guy that should setup camp inside the eighteen-yard box, with chocolate, brown bread sandwiches and marshmallows.
Far too many times you saw Griezmann or Carrasco break away from midfield, get up to the final third and start looking around for someone to pass to.
That wouldn't happen if you'd have a striker around.
They keep the central defenders busy, and they actually allow more movement of the midfielders, allowing them to be more evasive and find spaces.
This is all tactics in a fourth dimensional sense.
The sooner that Costa gets into the team, the better. I've seen pictures of him training and I can't wait to see how he fits into this Atletico that is a little different from the one that he left.
There's something really good I see here, something even better than the group that made it to two Champions League finals.
All they are missing is that finisher. HH
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