“It’s life itself.” On Friday afternoon Diego Simeone said Atlético Madrid hadn’t been through anything like this in the years he had been there. That’s how bad things had got. The very next day they went through something they hadn’t experienced in the 118 years anyone had been there. That’s how good it got, how much they had needed this. “Madness,” Ángel Correa called it. “Incredible,” José María Giménez offered. It was “unbelievably beautiful,” Matheus Cunha said. It was also a timely reminder of who they are. At least, they hoped so.
“What did you feel?” Simeone was asked when it was over, everyone exhausted but alive again, the final whistle coming on 100.51 with Atlético having somehow beaten Valencia 3-2 at the Metropolitano, the club’s anthem belted out like an act of faith. “What did I feel? Pfff. That this place is wonderful where I am. And every time you see it getting away, ah, I want to reach out and grab it even tighter.” They certainly have to hold on to something, and maybe this was it. “There are nights that stay with you; this is one,” Simeone said.
