Atletico Fever
The team put the finishing touch to a day of celebration with a great performance. Diego Costa, Falcao, Raul Garcia and Filipe were the goalscorers in the 5-0 victory.
It was a special day for the red and white family. The tenth edition of Children's Day saw thousands gathered throughout the day around the banks of the Manzanares. The joy of the youngster spilt over to the rest of the fan as the Simeones men went out to record a five goal victory.
With the stands full, Simeone's men wanted to put the finishing touches to a great day and it took just 4 minutes before the red and whites were ahead. A ball from Koke picked out Diego Costa who made no mistake heading past Roberto to make it 1-0.
The atmosphere in the stadium had gone into full swing. Atletico had come out onto the field ready to impose themselves on the opposition, demonstrating the characteristics that have put them in a strong position in the league. The pressure, intensity and good play from Simeone’s men was evident from the first minute.
Atletico Madrid 5-0 Granada
Atletico Madrid: Courtois, Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe (Insua 71 '); Gabi, Koke, Raul Garcia (Óliver, 70'), Cristian Rodriguez, Diego Costa (Adrian, 67 ') and Falcao
Granada: Roberto; Nyom (Juanma Ortiz, 46 '), Diakhaté, Mainz, Brayan, Mikel Rico, Brahimi Torje, Nolito, Aranda (El Arabi, 74') and Ighalo (Buonanotte, 67 ')
Goals:
Min.4. 1-0: Diego Costa
Min.27. 2-0: Falcao
Min.46. 3-0: Falcao
Min.62. 4-0: Raul Garcia
Min.70. 5-0: Filipe.
The game appeared to settle after a whirlwind start from Atletico in the opening minutes. However, the intensity and sparkle of Atletico did not relax for a second and just before the half hour mark, Cristian Rodriguez set off on a magnificent counterattack ending in Falcao putting the ball in the back of the net after a nice delivery from Diego Costa to make it 2-0.
Needing points, Granada came after the break with the intention of getting into the game and needed just 12 seconds to test Courtois with a Nolito effort. It was the only real threat from the visitor as in the following attack, Falcao pounced on a loose ball after a Koke free kick was only parried by the keeper, just 46 minutes on the clock and the rojiblancos 3-0 up.
Insatiable as ever, Atletico did not stop and continued to attack Roberto’s goal. In the 56th minute, Raul Garcia came on and to the delight of the Calderon it took him just 5 minutes to get amongst the goals. Simeone had asked during the week for more goals from midfield and Raul Garcia took up the gauntlet making it 4-0 after another great ball from Koke and the scoring didn’t end there as defender Luis Filipe made it 5-0.
The Calderon was in fantastic voice for a feat of football and in the closing stages, Simeone took the opportunity to give league debut to Óliver and Insua. Simeone's pupils put the finishing touches to a great day for young and old.