Atletico Madrid could not break down Club Brugge in their home Champions League tie on Tuesday evening, leaving Los Rojiblancos with an uphill battle.
Not for the want of trying. Matheus Cunha, Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata all came close, the latter forcing Simon Mignolet into a point blank save with his face.
One of the more notable facts of the match was that in desperate need of a goal, Diego Simeone did not call on the most expensive signing in the history of Atletico Madrid to find one, Joao Felix.
The Portuguese sat on the bench for the fourth game in a row and when Simeone used his final substitute, Axel Witsel, Joao Felix returned from his warm-up. Slumping into his seat, Felix chucked his bib away in disgust.
Following the match, Joao Felix then liked a tweet imploring him to come back to Benfica, where ‘he is respected.’
This is Joao Felix’s worst run of minutes since joining Atleti while fit. In the lead up to the match, Simeone had said that he was at fault for Felix’s poor form. That appears to be little consolation for Felix.
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