Amath Ndiaye has been one of the standout players of Atletico Madrid's trip to Australia but a full debut may still be tough to come by for the youngster.
The Senegalese midfielder was arguably the best player in a second-string Atletico side that lost 1-0 to Melbourne Victory on Sunday as he regularly found space on the left.
In the 13th minute, Ndiaye showed impressive technique to volley a Victory clearance just over the bar, and three minutes later it was his sliding tackle that denied Oliver Bozanic at the other end.
After the friendly, Victory coach Kevin Muscat conceded that Amath caused the A-League club "a few problems" and hailed the 20-year-old as Atletico's primary attacking threat as the chances kept coming for Amath in Geelong.
Amath continuously found space between Victory's back four and midfield in the first half. His power and tricky dribbling saw him leave Victory defenders in his wake time and again
Just before the half-hour mark, he was released by Tiago on a bursting run into the box but was denied by Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, while in the 36th minute he cut in from the left flank only to lift his shot over the bar.
Ndiaye also impressed off the bench in Friday's 1-0 triumph over Tottenham, but until he adds more final product to his game, he will remain behind the likes of Saul, Yannick Carrasco, Angel Correa and new signing Diogo Jota, according to Atleti coach Diego Simeone.
Speaking after the match, Simeone said of Amath: "He's shown a lot of good things over the past few weeks. Good acceleration, good speed, good touch to the ball.
"He's got a bit of goal-scoring to do, a bit of improvement in his final touch but overall he's improving. He's showing a lot."
While few would have expected Atleti to lose to Victory, Simeone insisted he was happy with his side's trip to Australia.
The Argentine coach was happy with how Victory gave his "second-tier players" a proper test at Simonds Stadium.
"The competitiveness of the game and the style in which it was played has really helped with some of the guys out there, some of the 18, 19-year-olds, who don't get much time normally on the pitch," he said.
"I've been able to use them today and see what they've got."
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