Atleti pays Koke price for Real hammering
Print Edition
ATLETICO Madrid may be without key midfielder Koke for over a month after he suffered a torn hamstring in his side’s 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid on Saturday.
“The player suffered a torn hamstring in the back part of his left leg,” the defending Spanish champion said.
Koke, a 23-year-old Spain international and an integral part of the Atletico midfield, is set to miss the Champions League last-16 first leg with Bayer Leverkusen this month and possibly the league clashes against Sevilla and Valencia.
“Incredible performance from the team! And thanks for your messages! I hope to be back soon,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.
The victory pulled Atletico within four points of its capital neighbor, and level with Barcelona, which plays its game in hand later yesterday at Athletic Bilbao.
Koke’s loss was bittersweet as he was replaced by 20-year-old Saul Niguez, who went on to score a stunning overhead-kick and set up the third goal for Antoine Griezmann.
Saul also injured himself in the process of teeing up Griezmann but scans have ruled out anything more serious than just a knock on his left knee.
Defender Diego Godin also played the majority of the game with a broken nose after clashing with Sami Khedira after ten minutes. However, the club confirmed the Uruguayan won’t need surgery on the injury.
Despite the derby hammering, coach Diego Simeone remains pragmatic about Atletico’s chances of retaining the title.
“We still need to keep going match by match and see what happens,” he told a news conference. “A coach can interpret the game in many different ways but it is the players that need to execute the ideas and they were brilliant. I have to thank the players for the way they played. They were solid and serious and we need to keep going this way.”
Real, which was missing key players defensively but had Cristiano Ronaldo back from suspension, began sluggishly and goalkeeper Iker Casillas was at fault when he allowed a Tiago Cardoso shot to slip under his right hand after 13 minutes. The goal still did not wake up Real and it quickly conceded another through Saul.
Atletico continued to create chances and Griezmann went close several times before bundling in a Saul header from close range after 66 minutes with Raphael Varane slow to react.
Mario Mandzukic further punished the Real defense with a header from a Fernando Torres cross late on.
Atletico has now beaten Real in the domestic Super Cup, twice in the league and knocked it out of the Copa del Rey since losing the last Champions League final to its neighbor.
Elsewhere, Mateo Musacchio and Gerard Moreno scored for sixth-placed Villarreal, which beat Granada 2-0.
David Barral scored a hat-trick in Levante’s 4-1 win over Malaga and a late goal from Nolito gave Celta Vigo a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad.
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