Atletico hoping for two key players to step up and reduce demand on others

Atletico Madrid would probably have signed off on their progress so far this season, as it nears the halfway point. In spite of a couple of frustrating defeats away from home, Los Rojiblancos have qualified top of their group in the Champions League, and remain firmly in the hunt for the La Liga title.

Yet there is a feeling at the Metropolitano that too much of that weight is being carried by too few players, as per Marca. Captain Koke Resurreccion has long-since demonstrated just how essential he is to Los Rojiblancos, while Antoine Griezmann’s inspired form means that nobody can really match up to his production.

When either of the two, both with plenty of minutes in their legs, need rested or could do with coming off, Atletico would rather the drop off was not so steep. Memphis Depay is only just coming back to full fitness after muscle injuries hampered him for the first three months of the season, but there is an expectation that he can now begin to reduce the goal burden on Griezmann and Alvaro Morata.

Equally, they feel that Rodrigo de Paul‘s season has been much more discreet than it was in the second half of the last campaign. He could be doing more to direct operations in midfield and swing the game in their favour, rather than requiring Koke to be on the pitch in order to do so.

With less resources than big two, depth is always an extra consideration for Los Colchoneros in the title race, especially when competing on multiple fronts. The implication is that Atletico can ill-afford passengers if they want to aspire to silverware, and while it would be unnfair to characterise Memphis or de Paul like that just yet, certainly they are billed as two of the difference-makers for Simeone.

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