Vitolo’s goal helped El Atleti beat Leganes 1-0 but it was a teenager’s performance that caught the eye of his team-mate
Portuguese prodigy Joao Felix can become ‘one of the best’, according to Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Atletico beat Leganes 1-0 in La Liga on Sunday courtesy of a second-half goal from Vitolo, who was played in by €120 million (£109m/$134m) signing Felix for the decisive strike.
Oblak heaped praise on the 19-year-old’s performance while hailing the team’s game management across a contest in which they survived 10 attempts on goal from Leganes.
“I knew he had great talent, great potential,” Oblak said of the Portugal international, who joined from Benfica in the recent off-season.
“The club has made a lot of effort to bring him here and we all agree that they have brought a high-quality player and that he can become one of the best, for sure.
“At the moment he is playing very well and hopefully he continues like this, giving us joy.
“It was a complicated game. Any team will have problems here against Leganes.
“Vitolo came on and scored the winning goal but in general the whole team played in the best possible way. We have defended well, we have suffered.
“It is important to know how to suffer because you cannot dominate the whole game.”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone echoed Oblak’s comments about Leganes, against whom he fielded a back three rather than his usual four.
The approach paid off as Atleti ground out a second win in as many games.
Simeone told reporters: “We needed to win and tried to do so in different ways. We changed things around and we won.
“Leganes never allow you to relax – they’re very strong at home.”
Atletico had 58 per cent possession during the match but struggled to convert than into attacking chances with Leganes having 10 shots to six and winning nine corners to four.
Having also achieved a 1-0 result against Getafe on opening weekend, Atletico currently sit second in La Liga behind Sevilla – who hold a plus-one goal difference advantage.
They are also ahead of Real Madrid (third) and Barcelona (ninth) and will be keen to maintain that advantage when they host Eibar at the Wanda Metropolitano on September 1.
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