The second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final betweenAtletico Madrid and Celta Vigo takes place on Wednesday night, with the tie finely poised after a goalless first 90 minutes at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos.
In some ways, a 0-0 scoreline is the near-typical embodiment ofAtletico Madrid at present: perfectly resolute, organised and untroubled in defence, but frustratingly off-key once inside the attacking penalty box, missing chances and with the strikers not firing on all cylinders.
The likes of Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto have not hit the heights expected of them, Fernando Torres has toiled after a good start, and Angel Correa—though exciting and aggressive—is extremely raw and inconsistent.
Even more annoyingly for Los Rojiblancos, on-loan striker BorjaBaston is firing on all cylinders for Eibar, starring in La Liga and hitting a brace at the weekend to move to 14 for the season—more than even Antoine Griezmann in league play at least.
Diego Simeone has to continue trying to strike the right balance by including his main attacking threats, without compromising that amazing consistency in the back line, but he needs to find the right blend soon.
At this stage of the season—in league or cup—a single chance taken can mean the difference in challenging for silverware...or having to wait until next year.
Date: Wednesday, 27 January
Time: 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Vicente Calderon, Madrid
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