Copa Del Rey Can Push Vietto, Other Youngsters, to Be Atletico Madrid Starters

Atletico Madrid got their Copa del Rey campaign up and running on Tuesday night with a first-leg victory over Reus Deportiu, triumphing 2-1 in Catalonia with a much-changed team.

For manager Diego Simeone, emerging from the potentially difficult first leg away from home with a lead would have been the most important aspect of the fixture, but the opportunity to rotate his side and give game time to those who have yet to really impress this season was equally important.

Miguel Angel Moya played his first game of the season, Lucas Hernandez did likewise and Thomas Partey made his first start—but it was perhaps Luciano Vietto who benefitted most from the first leg, playing throughout and scoring his second goal of the season to level up the scores in the first half.

False start

Vietto began pre-season with Villarreal, but he soon moved to Atleti in a big-money move and looked sharp in the summer with a series of inventive and impressing performances. That didn't translate to competitive action though, with the Argentinian forward looking oddly flat-footed in August and September.

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His touch was extremely poor at times, and he wasn't making runs into the box or linking with his strike partner. A lack of game time—while not merited—also didn't help his cause.

There was really nothing positive about Vietto's first two months at Atleti until he netted a late equaliser from close range against Real Madrid—but even that step forward was halted soon after as he missed a further six matches due to surgery for acute appendicitis.

Until the match at Reus, the most game time Vietto had amassed in a single fixture was barely more than an hour—just 62 minutes at Galatasaray in the first Champions League group-stage game.

Recent return and place to grab

Vietto's comeback against Real Betis only lasted 20 minutes after he was brought on as a late sub, but his impact there was slightly more impressive.

Better still was his movement and link play against Espanyol, where Vietto started and played just shy of an hour in the continued absence of Jackson Martinez, sidelined by injury from international duty.

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The penalty-box impact still wasn't present from Vietto though, and he missed two presentable opportunities to score his second of the season against Espanyol.

It might only be viewed as a strike against a third-tier team in Spain, but all forwards need goals for confidence and justification of their inclusion. Vietto's goal will give both, especially if Jackson—back in training—is not passed fit for the weekend.

"

Así fue el gol de Vietto que empató el partido. https://t.co/UZSNWrAhkc

— Atlético de Madrid (@Atletico_HIT) December 1, 2015"

At this early stage, the Copa del Rey isn't where players want to be making their biggest mark, but for those struggling to get regular game time in a competitive Atletico squad, they know Simeone will pay close attention to mentality and effort in these smaller matches just as much as quality and end product.

Contenders

Vietto isn't the only one looking to force his way in. Tiago's injury at the weekend leaves him sidelined for four months, with the players wearing "Animo Tiago" t-shirts in support of the central midfielder before the Copa match on Tuesday.

His absence leaves a gap in the team to be filled and Simeone spoke about some of his options, per the official Atletico website.

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"Koke has a good pass in the midfield. Saúl is more from that position. Both did a good job and are able to play there. Even Thomas, although I think he’s more a right winger," the manager noted.

Marca are taking a different stance on the matter though. The newspaper reports discussions have already taken place over potential January reinforcements for the middle and Jeremy Toulalan is currently top of the targets list.

Thomas, Saul and the incoming Matias Kranevitter will all hope for game time centrally, while the likes of Lucas Hernandez, Guilherme Siqueira, Angel Correa and others also need to use the Copa to put forward their own cases and show why they should play a bigger part in the first-team scene.

Follow @karlmatchett