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Cuti Romero: a leader's mettle and a pure No. 9's winner
Two minutes lurking in the box until Baena's outside-of-the-boot cross arrived for the 2-1 winner
Cuti Romero - Photo: Atlético de Madrid official website
Rubén Uría reviews the finale of Alavés v Atleti: Mariano's scare in the 84th minute and Cuti Romero's decision to stay up front as a centre-forward to head home the winning goal. For Uría, it was proof that he is made of leadership material.
The closing stages of the match in Vitoria had everything, and Rubén Uría recounts them without pausing for breath. First came the scare: in the 84th minute Mariano, who according to the presenter looked like Van Basten, skipped past three opponents at will, but his shot flew over and Alavés let Atlético off the hook.
Two minutes later, Cuti Romero decided to play as a centre-forward. He stayed in the box for two minutes, waiting, until Álex Baena delivered a sublime ball with the outside of his boot and the centre-back charged in, in Uría's words, like a freight lorry to power home a header for the 2-1 away win.
Uría stresses the context: Alavés had been down to ten men for some time, a draw was no good to Atleti and the pressure was at its peak. That is why he concludes that the standout point of the day is that Cuti Romero is made of leadership material: he saw that the team could not find a way through, stayed up front as a No. 9 and ended up putting the ball in the net to secure three points the presenter describes as golden.