The football cannonade and the siege, which is rarely seen, were survived by the players of Atlético in the duel with Liverpool.
Pushed in front of their own goal, or consciously withdrawn - it doesn't matter now - in a difficult to explain, but probably only football understandable way, they conceded fewer goals than they scored at "Anfield" and with a 3:2 victory, after extra time, won a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Every Atlético player, ever since Diego Simeone was on the bench, knows that he will suffer and that he must be ready for a merciless fight in duels with the best European teams, with attack-oriented teams.
That is also a requirement to be Simeone's "colćonero"...
And if anyone has been fulfilling the obligations and duties required by Ćol's warrior, according to many, anti-football, it is Stefan Savić.
And on Wednesday, in a duel with powerful, super-fast, technically great Liverpool players, he passed the test, one of the most difficult in his career.
In tandem with Felipe, he spent almost 120 minutes in his penalty area, under attacks from all sides.
"He lost Wijnaldum with the first goal, but during the whole match he was quick in his reactions, as usual", "Marka" described his performance.
In the match, statistics showed, Savić had as many as 18 interventions in the penalty area, and he hit the ball with his head 11 times, after numerous crosses and as many as 16 corners.
"He performed the task of guarding Van Dijk at the break without a mistake," emphasized "Marka".
The English media write that "Savić and Felipe frustrated the Liverpool players with their stability in difficult situations", and that behind them was the "impressive Oblak".
"During the two matches, Savić did a great job by keeping Firmino away from the danger zone," points out "Marka".
The American "ESPN" writes that Savić is a classic example of Simeone's coaching class, recalling that our representative began his serious European career in Manchester City.
"Could any City fan or someone who remembers Savić from that period guess what kind of player he would become? That's Simeone's stamp," writes "ESPN".
Italian media, on the other hand, state that Savić grew up in Fiorentina, and that he now represents the "lighthouse of Atlético's defense", as described by "Tutosport".
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