Atletico Madrid Player Ratings vs Elche: 7.5/10 for solid Savic; Match-winner Llorente gets 7

Atletico Madrid Player Ratings as a Marcos Llorente goal was enough for Los Rojiblancos to secure a 1-0 win over Elche in La Liga on Saturday afternooon.

Luis Suarez had a great chance to put Atletico Madrid in front just 12 minutes in but fired his effort wide of the Elche goal. He did find the back of the net four minutes later but the goal was chalked off for offside in buildup. The visitors were finally able to break open the deadlock in the 23rd minute through Marcos Llorente’s first-time effort via a deflection.

Atletico Madrid were awarded a penalty on the cusp of half-time for handball but the referee overturned his decision after consulting the pitchside monitor. Los Rojiblancos kept up the pressure after the break and Suarez had the ball in the net once again but was once again denied due to him being offside this time out.

Elche started to grow into the game with time and put Atletico under pressure as Antonio Barragan came close to equalising before a handball from Llorente in the 89th minute gave them a great chance to level things up. However, Fidel fired his spot-kick onto the bar handing Diego Simeone’s men a huge reprieve as they held on for a 1-0 win. Here are our player ratings for the Atletico Madrid stars following a narrow win on Saturday.

Jan Oblak: 6.5/10

Not called into action in the first half and was largely restricted to punching or claiming crosses for most of the first period. Lucky to see Fidel’s penalty bounce off the woodwork before making a straightforward save from Calvo.

Stefan Savic: 7.5/10

Solid all day, the 30-year-old swept up whatever came his way with comfort, dominating in the air and making several important clearances. Finished the game with the most aerial duels won (7), most clearances (4) while also completing 83% of his passes. Crucial to the clean sheet.

Jose Maria Gimenez: 6.5/10

Back into the side after serving out his suspension, the Uruguayan had a comfortable outing for the most part in Alicante given as Lucas Boye did not ask major questions of him. Distributed well from the back before being withdrawn with an injury.

Mario Hermoso: 6.5/10

Handed a start due to the injury to Renan Lodi, Hermoso, as he usually does, sprayed some nice passes forward into the left side channel for the likes of  Yannick Carrasco and Luis Suarez to run onto. Misplaced only seven of his 49 attempted passes and won a couple of tackles in what was a steady display on his return to the lineup.

Kieran Trippier: 6.5/10

A solid display defensively, Trippier, who has been recently linked with a shock move to Real Madrid, was strong in his challenges throughout and read the game well to produce some key interventions. Wasn’t able to have a great impact going forward but did play a peach of a pass into Angel Correa leading up Suarez’s ruled out goal in the second half and hit a couple of dangerous looking passes. Ended with a game-high six tackles. However, was guilty of giving away the free-kick from which Elche won the penalty.

Marcos Llorente: 7/10

Was offside in the buildup leading to Suarez’s first disallowed goal. Made amends soon after with a crisp strike that made its way into the back of the net via a deflection from Josema Sanchez. Pushed forward with intent and tried to create openings for his teammates but wasn’t at his sharpest on the day. Then gave away the penalty by committing a handball in the box and was very lucky that Fidel wasn’t able to find the back of the net. Gets point docked because of the penalty.

Geoffrey Kondogbia: 7/10

With Atletico Madrid captain Koke deemed fit enough only to be on the bench, Kondogbia got a rare start on Saturday and he used it quite well. An energetic presence in the middle, the former Inter Milan and Valencia ace provided good ball progression while also cutting out any potential threat that the hosts conjured up. Finished the game with three tackles and an interception, along with two dribbles.

Thomas Lemar: 6/10

Back into the lineup for the first time since returning from injury, the Frenchman started well, making positive runs forward with the ball as he completed three dribbles and also created a couple of chances. However, seemed to fade pretty quickly. Booked in the first period and taken off before the hour mark.

Yannick Carrasco: 7/10

Slotting in as the left-sided wing-back, the Belgian did not have much work defensively and provided a constant outlet on his flank, looking a threat each time he was on the ball. Set up the goal for Llorente after a brilliant run into the box and created three more chances on the day – the most by any player in the game. Also made three dribbles and a couple of tackles.

Angel Correa: 6/10

Created the early chance for Luis Suarez after having had a shot blocked. Moved well but wasn’t able to make the same kind of impact that he has been making in recent games. Finished with one key pass.

Luis Suarez: 5/10

A frustrating outing for the veteran striker on his return to the starting XI following a spell on the sidelines. Should have put the ball into the net with an early chance and when he did, he saw the efforts get chalked off for offside twice. Lacked that bit of sharpness and needs to find it quickly with few games left to be played.

SUBSTITUTES

Joao Felix: 5/10

Replaced Lemar in the 57th minute. Hardly involved. His dip in form has been quite alarming.

Koke: 5/10

Came on for Correa in the 65th minute. Tried hard but didn’t look fully fit.

Felipe: N/A

Sent on in place of the injured Gimenez in the 82nd minute.

Saul Niguez: N/A

On for Suarez with less than ten minutes left.