The battle for midfield will be more exciting than usual when Chelsea face Atletico Madrid. The Blues must disrupt and find ways to bypass Atletico’s home-grown pairing of Saul and Koke.
Chelsea will encounter a midfield duo as strong as their own at Wanda Metropolitano stadium Wednesday. Saul and Koke run the play in both directions for Atletico Madrid’s 4-4-2. While N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko are quickly developing their rapport to play off each other, they are still only a few games into their relationship. Saul and Koke, on the other hand, have the advantage of having coming up through the Atletico Madrid academy.
Saul joined Atletico’s academy at age 13, after a few years with Real Madrid’s youth program. With the exception of the 2013/14 season on loan at Rayo Vallecano – where he enjoyed his first full season of top-flight football – he has never known another club.
Koke, on the other hand, is a true one-club man. He debuted as a 17-year old with Atletico’s first team. Now, at age 25, has 330 appearances for the Rojiblancos.
Koke lines up as the right midfielder, but plays more centrally to allow Juanfran to overlap along the flank. Thomas Partey stays deep behind Koke, who becomes the central figure in Atletico’s passing strategy. Koke leads Atletico with 64 passes per game, and has more long balls per game than any Atletico player other than centre-back Diego Godin or goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
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Koke has two goals and two assists, contributing to his profile as Atletico’s most complete player. He shares many qualities of a younger Cesc Fabregas, reaching double-digits for assists in three of the last four seasons.
Saul reinforces Atletico’s centre-backs, freeing up former Chelsea man Felipe Luiz on the left flank. Saul leads Atletico with 3.5 tackles per game, and is second with 1.8 interceptions.
The Blues defenders will have to interrupt Koke’s possession and passing to prevent Atletico from patiently creating chances. If Atletico play a high line as expected, Saul will be the main pressure point keeping Chelsea pinned in their zone. The potential for Antonio Rudiger to start ahead of Gary Cahill could be an attempt to use Rudiger’s mobility to disrupt Koke. If Chelsea can get the ball off of Koke, or at least limit his options and control in possession, they can take the sting out of Atletico and push the home side towards midfield.
Once Chelsea recover the ball, Saul will be the first – and major – obstacle to Chelsea launching a counter-attack. The Blues will need to get around Saul quickly enough to not allow Atletico time to recover. Saul is aggressive yet disciplined in the tackle, getting whistled for 2.2 fouls per game but receiving only one yellow card so far this season.
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Saul and Koke share a tactical brotherhood that stems from their extensive time playing together and having learned football from the same system. Chelsea will have to overcome them as individuals and as a tandem on both sides of the ball.