Joao Felix finally becoming the player Atletico Madrid thought he would be
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Updated 02/12/2020 at 09:59 GMT
Seen as the replacement for Antoine Griezmann at the Wanda Metropolitano, the Portuguese youngster has grown into his role as Diego Simeone's main man. Joao Felix scored Atletico Madrid's only goal in the 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in Tuesday's Champions League clash, impressing throughout against Hansi Flick's reigning European champions.
Atletico Madrid's Portuguese midfielder Joao Felix (R) celebrates with Atletico Madrid's English defender Kieran Trippier after scoring during the UEFA Champions League group A football match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich at the Wanda Metropol
Image credit: Getty Images
It took a return to Lisbon for Joao Felix to truly settle into his new surroundings. The Portuguese youngster had endured a difficult first season in Spain following his record €126 million transfer from Benfica, but finally announced himself as an Atletico Madrid superstar with an eye-catching performance against RB Leipzig in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Atleti ultimately lost to Leipzig, but Felix has used that display as a platform to build upon, with the 21-year-old saving some of his best performances for Europe. Felix was the best player on the pitch against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, scoring Atleti’s only goal against the reigning continental champions and generally shining throughout.
Felix now has seven goals in his last eight games and has grown into his role as Atletico Madrid’s primary difference maker. This is what he was signed to be, but doubts arose last season when the Portuguese struggled to get to grips with Diego Simeone’s methods and approach.
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Atletico Madrid's Portuguese midfielder Joao Felix eyes the ball during the UEFA Champions League group A football match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on December 1, 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
Indeed, Felix looked to be something of a tactical and stylistic misfit for Atleti. There was talk of Simeone moving away from the ‘Cholismo’ ideology that had sustained the capital club as the ultimate underdogs over a number of years, with the signing of a player like Felix seen as symbolic of this desire to change.
However, Simeone’s side ended up in philosophical no man’s land. It wasn’t until the Champions League win over Liverpool at Anfield that Atletico Madrid started to look like themselves again, with Felix a big part of the recovery that saw the club salvage a third place La Liga finish having spent much of the campaign outside the top four.
By reverting to his default, to what he knows best, Simeone has restored Atletico Madrid as a force both domestically and in Europe. The capital club will be top of La Liga if they win one of their two games in-hand over Real Sociedad, with the point against Bayern Munich on Tuesday leaving them well-placed to make the Champions League’s round of 16.
In terms of his role in the team, Felix is very much the new Antoine Griezmann. Just as the Frenchman had, Felix has something of a free role in the Atletico Madrid attack, expected to link up with a central striker, but also drift wherever space can be exploited. Griezmann had Diego Costa to play off and Felix has Luis Suarez following the Uruguyan’s signing from Barcelona.
There is something very familiar about Felix and Suarez’s partnership for Atletico Madrid this season, even down to the character of both players. Costa and Suarez are pantomime villains who relish the physical side of the game, while Felix and Griezmann are flair players with an eye for goal.
With Felix and Suarez giving Atleti genuine attacking presence and an effective combination in the final third, the likes of Koke and Saul Niguez have been back to their best. Atletico Madrid look like Atletico Madrid again and no two players embody this better than the pair leading the line.
The latter stages of Tuesday’s game highlighted how Atletico Madrid still have progress to make. At 1-0 up, they were in control of the match, coming to a second goal when Felix smashed a strike off the crossbar. Simeone should have kept his side pressing, but chose to pull back and paid the price for that decision, allowing Bayern Munich back into the contest.
Felix wasn’t the only impressive youngster on the pitch at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala making a good impression on his Champions League debut for Bayern Munich. There was also a place for Bright Arrey-Mbi, another former Chelsea youngster, in the visitors’ team as Hansi Flick rotated his squad.
A price tag of €126 million saw unrealistic demands made of Felix in his first season in Spain, but he is now proving why Atletico Madrid were right to pay that sort of money for him. Atleti are comfortable in their own skin again and the rise of Felix has been key to this.
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