Alert at Atlético and the National Team: De Paul had to leave due to injury against Getafe

Before the match against Real Madrid for the second leg of the round of 16,  Atlético Madrid suffered a tough defeat against Getafe by 2 to 1 and complicates its fight at the top of La Liga. At halftime, Rodrigo De Paul had to be replaced due to a hard hit on his left leg. Julián Álvarez, Giuliano Simeone, and Nahuel Molina also started, while Ángel Correa came off the bench.

At 26 minutes into the first half, the Argentine midfielder received the ball in midfield and was intercepted by Álvaro Rodríguez, a Getafe player, who hit him with a dead leg on his left quadriceps in his attempt to steal the ball, leaving "Motorcito" lying on the ground showing clear signs of pain.

Later, he was seen limping to the substitutes' bench and, by the second half,  he had to be replacedby Cholo Simeone.

This possible injury raises alarms not only at Atlético, which has its Champions League commitment with Real Madrid on Wednesday,  but also for the Argentine National Team, as in less than two weeks the South American Qualifiers matches are played against tough rivals like Uruguay, away, and Brazil, at home.

As for the match, the score only opened at 75 minutes, when the Norwegian Sorloth, who came on for La Araña, scored in favor of Atlético. However, at 88 minutes, Ángel Correa, on his 30th birthday, was sent off for a foul on Djené.

Due to the decision of referee Guillermo Cuadra Fernández, the Argentine went out to protest, which could earn him a sanction that is yet to be defined, but it could be for several matches. With one less player, Atleti couldn't withstand the local team's attacks, which minutes later turned it around with a brace from Mauro Arambarri and sealed the final result.

"The match overall wasn't good to watch, each team sought it in their own way. We didn't do what the match needed, but even so, we took the lead with that penalty that appeared. Then came Correa's red card, which may or may not be, the opponent will be fine, and the referee decides to send him off. Then came their two very similar goals. We have to accept a deserved defeat because we didn't know how to solve the match and face what's coming",commented Cholo after the tough defeat, which complicates Atlético's fight for the title, as, by not adding points, it allowed Real Madrid to surpass them in the standings (57 for Real and 56 for Atleti) and Barcelona (57, but with one less match due to the death of the team's official doctor) to gradually separate from the rest in the final stretch of the tournament.