Atleti earn hard-fought win over Valladolid
Our team earned a 1-0 win against Valladolid at the Wanda Metropolitano thanks to a second half own goal.
Atleti earned a 1-0 home win over Valladolid on Saturday. A second half own goal from Joaquín decided the game.
The game started with our team on possession, passing the ball around, and Sergio González’s side defending and waiting to counter. Nevertheless, the first chance was for Valladolid, as Sergi Guardiola tried his luck from outside the box, but Oblak made a fine save. Atleti’s first good chance came after 15 minutes, when a link-up play between Morata and Griezmann ended up with a shot by the Frenchman. The ball went wide.
Our number 7 tried his luck with a free-kick from way out shortly thereafter, but Masip saved it. Our team continued dominating possession and looking to take the lead, but we reached half-time with the score at 0-0.
During the break, Simeone made his first substitution, as Thomas Partey made way for Rodrigo. The first chance of the second half came early on, through Saúl, when the Spaniard tried his luck from outside the box and the ball went just wide. Ten minutes into the second half, Correa came on for Filipe Luis, which meant that Saúl moved to left-back. Griezmann had a couple of chances just before reaching the one-hour mark, but he was unable to convert.
Atleti continued trying, and finally found the goal as a Saúl cross was deflected into the back of the net by a Valladolid defender. Just after we took the lead, Simeone made his final substitution of the game, as Vitolo came on for Morata. Just before the end of the match, Valladolid had a penalty call turned down after a VAR review, and the game finished 1-0 for Atleti.
