Road to Paris. Tomorrow night, Atlético de Madrid will try to score their ticket for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. For that, the Colchoneros will have to take down Manchester City, winner 1-0 in the first leg. So everything is still possible for the Madrilenians who can count on Thomas Lemar. After a difficult month of March marked by injuries and Covid-19, the former Monaco player is in excellent shape, as he said in an interview with AFP†
Lemar defends Simeone and Atléti
The opportunity for him to discuss the five-star clash against Skyblues and the criticism that Diego Simeone faced after the first leg. Many observers, such as the media, did not appreciate El Cholo’s style of play, especially as his team did not shoot once on target. ‘I have nothing to say to them. Just look at the statistics since the arrival of the coach. It may not look pretty, but it works. Atletico win, and that’s the most important thing.”Lemar dropped. A player who evolved under the command of the Argentine.
“Last year I had a conversation with the coach, when I started to find my place in the team. I have a role that better suits my style, which has facilitated my integration into the playing style at Atlético. It suits me well. I had this worker side before. But I kept working on my negative points, which became positive points… It’s mainly in the defensive field. When recovering the ball, on defensive withdrawals. I worked a lot on that. It allowed me to expand my palette. Now I am a more complete player than before.
The Frenchman sends a message to Deschamps
Present in the Spanish capital since 2018, the former Caen player feels good there. Especially because he found Antoine Griezmann on loan this season with a purchase option. “Antoine and I have a great bond. I get on well with him both on and off the field. The fact that he came back to us has already touched me very much, but so has the club. Admittedly, he was trained at Real Sociedad, but he is still a child of the club, someone who has proven himself at Atletico Madrid. And he remains a great player. I’m sure he will help us at the end of the season.”†
The two men could also be reunited in the Blues jersey. Lemar, who was not present during the success of the Nations League, is applying for a spot for Qatar. “My goal is to go to the World Cup. It’s a big goal for me. Yes, I was removed from the last rosters due to physical glitches, but I always had this goal in mind, to be part of the list for the World Cup After that all players are important so it’s up to me to show what I’m worth, to show my worth to the coach Didier Deschamps has been warned!
