{"id":1176055,"date":"2020-11-12T10:53:42","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T10:53:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1176055"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:19:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:19:22","slug":"joao-felix-luis-suarez-atletico-madrid-deadly-duo","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/joao-felix-luis-suarez-atletico-madrid-deadly-duo\/","title":{"rendered":"Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix and Luis Su\u00e1rez: Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s deadly duo taking on La Liga"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Diego Costa and David Villa both left Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in 2014, no one anticipated it would be six years until there was another deadly duo in attack for Diego Simeone’s side.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even during the heights of Antoine Griezmann\u2019s time at the club, he stood alone in attack. Fernando Torres never reached the same level in his second spell, Kevin Gameiro struggled to settle and Costa was a shadow of his former self upon his return. In his first season after a \u20ac126million move to replace Griezmann, it seemed that Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix could follow the same path.<\/p>\n

Then came Luis Su\u00e1rez. Ditched by Barcelona, Atl\u00e9tico finally had a first-class centre forward to partner F\u00e9lix. At 33, he\u2019s a player who had been everywhere and done it all. Much like Villa when he came in, who helped to tame the aggression of Costa and show him the movements he needed to cause problems, Su\u00e1rez has come in and looked to make F\u00e9lix his project. For the first time since F\u00e9lix joined the club, he had a partner with whom he could build a relationship.<\/p>\n

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Up to that point, F\u00e9lix had been paired with Costa or \u00c1lvaro Morata. When fit, Costa\u2019s immobility didn\u2019t suit F\u00e9lix\u2019s free movement and flowing style, while Morata depended too much on being on the shoulder of the last man, leaving F\u00e9lix without anyone holding the ball up for him and isolated in the central gap between midfield and attack. Rather than providing the link between them, F\u00e9lix was lost in no man\u2019s land, isolated and easy to bully off the ball without passing options, without space to run into and without physical support.<\/p>\n

It would be easy to imagine that Simeone had this in mind when he allowed Morata to depart for Juventus and brought in Su\u00e1rez. Su\u00e1rez may not be as mobile as he once was, but he provides movement in attack. Able to do the physical battling that Costa does, but also able to pull defences apart with his movement, he remains a far more mobile option than Barcelona fans would give him credit for. It was the mobility that Atl\u00e9tico Madrid needed to create space for F\u00e9lix to play in.<\/p>\n

In fact, the move is one which Simeone has admitted himself. When asked about F\u00e9lix\u2019s form, Simeone said: “I believe that all this is generated from the presence of Su\u00e1rez, with the likes of Costa and Morata before him, they had a lot of other characteristics, but we have been looking for other qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix's last two LaLiga games:<\/p>\n

\u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f
\u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f<\/p>\n

He only scores braces. pic.twitter.com\/2bfpbN1Dx2<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) November 7, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n