Atlético de Madrid defeated (1-2) Olympique de Marseille this Friday at the CEPAC Vélodrome in the French city, as the last preseason match before the LaLiga EA Sports debut next Wednesday against Málaga. The rojiblanco team, which came from defeats against Manchester City and Manchester United and a victory against Getafe, succeeded against a dangerous Marseille, which thrashed Athletic Club.
Diego Pablo Simeone’s team came back from the great goal by the talented Igor Paixao with goals from Rodrigo Mendoza and, already in the second half, Carlos Martín. Marseille’s youth player, the great sensation of Bruno Genesio’s preseason, fulfilled his threat and showed that he can be one of the players to watch in Europe. Paixao was everywhere, and the rojiblanco defense adjusted despite the changes. In a call-up with major absences, the ‘Cholo’ left out Julián Álvarez, Juan Musso, and the Spaniards Álex Baena and Marcos Llorente; the Madrid team, with the debut of Alejandro Grimaldo, again relied on many youth players who have been demanding a place amid an unusual preseason. Despite that French dominance, Atleti had the first and best chance to take the lead. Ademola Lookman hit the post after a great pass from Kang In Lee, although the visitors struggled to leave their field. Then, Paixao, who had already warned, shone by chipping the ball over Jan Oblak, in a poor defensive action by the rivals, first losing the ball quickly and then failing to mark properly.
The changes still in the first half, with Dani Martínez, Carlos Martín, and Mendoza, improved ‘Cholo’s’ men and bore fruit with the 1-1 that Lookman caused with good pressing up front. Atleti maintained that forward pace in the second half, with the entry of another rojiblanco sensation like Arnau Ortiz and, for the reaction 20 minutes from the end, Jorge Domínguez. However, a more seasoned Marseille with the usual eleven for their imminent Ligue 1 debut did not let themselves be dominated and showed the quality of their also young team. Timothy Weah, Amine Harit, and Amine Gouiri came close to scoring, but Atlético, at times pushed back into their own half and waiting for their big stars, struck on the counter with Arnau and Martín for a good preseason close.
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