Report: El Madrileño held to a draw on debut in Alcalá | OneFootball

The Atlético Madrileño began its third season in the Primera Federación debuting a new home, the sports city of Alcalá de Henares. A familiar setting for some of the squad members who played in the Juvenil A not long ago… at an unfortunate time as usual for both the red and whites and their opponent, Atlético Sanluqueño.

Fernando Torres' team lined up as follows: Mario de Luis; Javier Boñar, Aleksa Puric, Mati Barboza, Julio Díaz; Martín Bellotti, Javi Serrano; Koke Mota, Jano Monserrate, Rayane Belaid; Omar Janneh. Despite the call from the Sub-20, both Rayane Belaid and Julio Díaz were not only present in Alcalá but also part of the lineup. Meanwhile, Mario de Luis replaced Salvador Esquivel, who started the concentration with the Sub-19, and due to the call-ups of Darío Sits with Latvia and Sergio Esteban with the Sub-19, the Niño called up Miguel Cubo, a forward from Juvenil A.

The first half, let's say, was improvable but, above all, showed the same problems that Atleti B had last season. A very proactive team that had a large percentage of possession throughout the match, but once the offensive phase reached the final third, errors occurred leading to turnovers and transitions from the opponent. Mario de Luis, Puric, and Barboza were very solid in defense, along with the off-ball work of Javi Serrano and especially Martín Bellotti, who for me was the best player of the match.

Koke Mota, who was starting for the first time with the reserves, was incisive on the right side, cutting inside, but his performance waned as the match progressed. Rayane Belaid and Jano, from whom much is expected, fell short due to numerous avoidable losses caused by various flourishes, which, although done to please and help the team, ended up conceding more possessions to the visitors. The two full-backs, Boñar and Julio, also incisive, left their mark on the match with runs and crosses into the area.

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At the start of the second half, the team improved significantly, aiming to be more vertical and playing less positionally. This was even more noticeable with the entry of Iker Luque for Koke Mota, which was the first red and white change at the 60th minute. Iker, known for his ability to break through and dribble causing havoc for the opponent, is one of those players you never know where they will come from. Unpredictable would be the word. He showed quality touches, but what stood out the most is that, as soon as he receives the ball, he faces his opponent without hesitation and usually comes out on top in most situations.

In a "strange" play, Julio Díaz first took advantage of a pass from Omar Janneh and then an error from the opposing defender to dribble past the goalkeeper and score the 1-0, but he was slightly offside, and the FVS, one of the new features in the category, stifled what would have been the first goal shout of the season.

Omar Janneh was close to scoring the first after a very good cross from Boñar from the right, but his header was too high, and the ball went over the opponent's goal. In the 76th minute, Miguel Cubo came on, making his official debut with the main reserve team at just 17 years old… and what a debut. In his first action, he ran shoulder to shoulder with the opposing center-back and not only managed to control a long pass with an incredible touch of quality but also sought to resolve the play in a few seconds. Iker Luque had another chance a few minutes later, but the shot went slightly wide.

Towards the end, Cubo forced a direct red card for the Andalusians, which, after being reviewed on the monitor, was confirmed, but even then, Torres' men couldn't find the net. And, as it couldn't be otherwise, we had the heart-stopping moment of the day with a one-on-one in the last minutes that was brilliantly handled by Mario de Luis. A good debut for the goalkeeper, who made a couple of good saves to prevent the visitors' goals.

With this draw, Atlético Madrileño earns its first point of the season and its first clean sheet, placing them in eighth position. In the next round, they will visit FC Cartagena at the Cartagonova this Friday, September 5th, starting at 21:30.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.