Johnny Cardoso played 90 minutes in Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 road win over Deportivo Alaves on Saturday, his third straight start in midfield. He finished the match with 73 completions from 77 passes, a 95% success rate, and stayed on through Cristian Romero’s late winner.
Cardoso added eight duels won, two interceptions and two tackles in a match that gave Atletico Madrid its first road win over Deportivo Alaves since January 2021. For a player in his second season, that run of starts has become the clearest sign that Diego Simeone is trusting him in a central role rather than easing him in and out of the side.
Atletico Madrid midfield role
The full shift is not just the minutes. Cardoso’s passing volume and defensive work show a midfielder asked to connect possession and break up play in the same spell, rather than stay fixed in one lane. When a player is completing 73 of 77 passes and still winning duels, he is doing more than circulating the ball safely.
That matters inside Atletico Madrid because a third straight start usually means more than a single good showing. It points to a manager comfortable with the structure in front of the defense, and it gives Cardoso a stronger base heading into a heavier stretch of matches.
U.S. Men’s National Team roster omission
The complication is that Cardoso was not selected for the U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the September-October window. That leaves his club form on one track and his international standing on another, with this recent run now becoming part of the case he can make the next time roster decisions come around.
For readers tracking his place in the squad picture, the practical takeaway is simple: Cardoso has given Atletico Madrid a reliable full-match midfield option, and he has done it while forcing a harder conversation about why that level has not yet translated into a national-team selection.
Manchester United in UEFA Champions League
Atletico Madrid now turns to Manchester United in UEFA Champions League play this week, and Cardoso’s next task is to keep the same standard in a higher-profile setting. Another start would extend the run that began in midfield before Saturday and would keep his case in view on both sides of the Atlantic.
