- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
3 Atletico Madrid Fringe Players Who Would Benefit from a Start at Bayern Munich
- Updated: December 5, 2016
Atletico Madrid’s La Liga campaign might not be going to plan, but things are a lot different in the Champions League.
Negotiating what looked to be a difficult group containing Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and the Russian side Rostov, Atletico have breezed through the competition so far, winning all five of their matches to become the only team in the competition with a 100 per cent record.
All of which means that the final match of the group stage—the trip to Bayern Munich, which looked to be the most difficult at the beginning of the competition—now seems somewhat irrelevant. Whatever the scoreline in Bavaria on Tuesday night, Atletico will finish top of Group D and Bayern Munich will finish second.
📋 Squad list (1/2): Oblak, Moyá, Moreira; Juanfran, Vrsaljko, Godín, Giménez, Savic, Lucas; Gabi, Saúl, Koke, Gaitán… #FCBAtleti #GoAtleti
— Atleti English (@atletienglish) December 4, 2016
📋 Squad list (2/2): Thomas, Carrasco, Caio; Correa, Gameiro, Griezmann y Torres. #FCBAtleti #GoAtleti
— Atleti English (@atletienglish) December 4, 2016
And so with the domestic season not going as well as Diego Simeone would have hoped, will he take the opportunity to mix things up and give experience to some of his squad’s lesser lights in the grand setting of the Allianz Arena?
Some players could take the opportunity to force themselves into his plans for the league matches and later on in the Champions League, but who will they be?
Here are three men who could do with a start.
Sime Vrsaljko
Croatian full-back Sime Vrsaljko has found playing time severely limited since joining Atletico from Sassuolo in the summer, but half of his appearances for the club so far have come in the Champions League.
Vrsaljko played in the home wins over PSV Eindhoven and Rostov as Simeone gave his first-choice right-back Juanfran a breather, and he surely deserves a run-out in Munich after impressing whenever he’s been given the opportunity so far.
The 24-year-old scored in the 6-0 Copa del Rey win over Guijuelo last week, and if Simeone feels that the time is right to throw him into the action against one of the best attacking forces in world football, then surely he would welcome the opportunity.
…
