"All night he had watched Marcos Llorente fly up the wing; for the last half an hour he had watched his son do so too, all clenched jaw and bulging veins, stuck on fast forward, a determination so intense it looked like he might explode. Now it was the Atletico Madrid manager's turn, who had literally been on his knees for much of the night, sprinting up the touchline in his black suit and shiny shoes, screaming and let loose again."
"As always in football, in life, faith is the most important thing. A superhero doesn't go amiss either, the striker they call the Spider' standing amid the mayhem doing Peter Parker pe-choo, pe-choos from his wrists. Four days earlier, Julian Alvarez had missed his first penalty for Atletico, finishing a fifth consecutive game without a goal, sitting on the bench muttering why always me? at least that's what the lip readers said as Atletico were held at Mallorca."
Diego Simeone experienced a rollercoaster night as Marcos Llorente and his son produced relentless wing runs and raw intensity. Atletico scored first for the sixth time in six weeks yet faced another defeat threat after mixed early-season results and heavy transfer outlay. A wild sequence produced five goals, four spectacular strikes, and 54,098 ecstatic fans, transforming despair into elation. Faith and a heroic performance from a nicknamed striker lifted the mood. Julian Alvarez suffered a goal drought and missed a penalty four days earlier, highlighting pressure amid significant summer investment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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