Atlético run into Aris and will play for it all in the final match (2-3)
A goal from Lazaridis ten minutes from the end is a bucket of cold water
Atlético de Madrid made life tough on itself against Aris Thessaloniki (2-3) and will have to try to qualify for the next round of the UEFA Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen. The uncomfortable loss against the Greeks leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the ‘rojiblanco’ faithful, who watched on as their team’s participation in this competition became bleak. Goals from Forlán and Kun Agüero weren’t enough to beat an Aris side that gave the final blow in the 81st minute.
The low temperatures in Spain’s capital foreshadowed what happened in the opening minutes at the Vicente Calderón. Atlético de Madrid couldn’t have started the match worse as they were already losing to Aris 0-1 in the first minute. After De Gea misjudged a cross from the right, Koke fired into the back of the net after Javito’s first shot went off the crossbar and gave the visitors the lead. It was going to be an uphill battle for Quique’s lads. One minute later, José Antonio Reyes ripped a strong shot that hit Lazaridis’ hand. The referee didn’t call a penalty, although the Atleti players saw it clearly.
Atlético needed a victory to clinch passage to the next round of the UEFA Europa League. Aris de Thessaloniki, with the lead, settled in on the pitch, but it was the side from the Manzanares that had possession of the ball. That was exactly what made Atlético more dangerous in front of the goal.
In the 11th minute Diego Forlán got the supporters into the match. The Uruguayan, well-situated in the area, followed up a shot from Simão that was tipped by Sifakis and clanged off the post to draw level. From that moment on a different match was seen at the Calderón. The mobility of the ‘rojiblanco’ wingers and the strikers was constant. The connection between Simão, Forlán and Kun Agüero was beginning to work.
The home side followed this up five minutes later with another goal, when Kun Agüero gave a lesson on how to finish off a one-on-one against the Greek keeper. The Argentine striker got behind two defenders and beat Sifakis with a low, diagonal shot to the far post. What had begun poorly turned into a class of football from the Madrid side, which didn’t lose the ball to the Greeks. The lack of organization in defense of Héctor Cúper’s squad was clear, and the Argentinean manager tried to correct things from the bench.
Down by a goal on the scoreboad, Aris dropped back into their own area. They fought on the counter-attack, although the attacks from the home squad past the half-hour mark lost a bit of intensity. In spite of everything, Quique’s men appeared confident in their play. The Madrid manager had advised during his pre-game press conference that he wanted his team to win by playing well and keeping possession of the ball. The two teams headed into the dressing rooms with a 2-1 score, as Atlético was able to manage their resources and turn around a horrible start that began with a mistimed play by De Gea.
The second half began as the first ended, with a clear chance for Atlético. Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi made a perfect run down the right wing, but the shot from teammate Forlán hit off the bottom of the crossbar and bounded away. It was a play very similar to the one with which the Greeks began the encounter. In minuet 50, referee Ivan Bebek called a penalty on Domínguez on Lazaridis for grabbing his jersey. Koke, again, stepped up to score the ensuing spot kick. The Spaniard thus tallied a brace against Atlético de Madrid in the fifth week of the Europa League Group Stage.
With the score level, the ‘rojiblanco’ had to step it up once again. Quique Sánchez Flores repositioned his players and asked for more intensity in pressuring the ball. Diego Forlán tried his luck once again in the 60th minute by trying to fire home a pass from Simão after a nice run from the left winger. The Portuguese footballer was very active the entire game, looking for Kun and Forlán at all times. Three minutes later it was Argentine Agüero’s turn to try and beat the Greek netminder after a nice individual play. The ‘10’ tried again in minute 69, spinning between two defenders and looking for holes to give his team back the lead. The Atlético coaches weren’t content with the 2-2 score, as they were aware that they needed a victory to ensure passage to the next round. For this reason, Quique decided to send on Diego Costa in place of Simão. The manager now had three forwards on the pitch to try and snatch the win.
The grey clouds arrived for the ‘rojiblancos’ in minute 81. On what seemed like an inoffensive play, Lazaridis took advantage of a mistake between the Atlético defense and De Gea to give his squad the lead. The indecision of the Atleti back line and the lack of communication with its goalkeeper allowed the Aris ‘24’ to send a rebound into the back of the net.
Things now looked tough for the ‘rojiblancos’. Qualification was getting further and further away and Atlético would potentially have to put all of their cards on the table against Bayer Leverkusen. Aris, who did little during the course of the match, were able to take advantage of their chances and particularly the errors made by the club from Madrid. In stoppage time and with the fans’ nerves in shreds, Forlán had one last chance from outside the area, but the ball went straight into the hands of the Greek goalkeeper.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 2 (Forlán and Kun Agüero); OSASUNA, 3 (Koke, 2, one penalty, and Lazaridis).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Ujfalusi, Perea, Domínguez, Antonio López (Raúl García, 85’); Mario Suárez, Tiago (Fran Mérida, 85’), Reyes, Simão (Diego Costa, 73’); Kun Agüero and Forlán.
Aris: Sifakis; Vangjeli, Oriol, Lazaridis, Michel; Faty, Toja; Javito, Koke (Prittas, 76’), Mendrinos (Kaznaferis, 71’) and Cesarec (Carlos Ruiz, 82’).
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Cro). For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Tiago (31’), Domínguez (75’) and Raúl García (89’); for Aris booked Javito (58’), Mendrinos (81’) and Sifakis (93’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 5ª de la Fase de Grupos de la EUFA Europa League.
Goals:
0-1 (1’). Koke scores the first after De Gea misjudges a cross from the right.
1-1 (11’). Forlán follows home a rebound after a Simão shot bangs off the post.
2-1 (15’). Kun Agüero slots home with the inside of his foot to Sifakis’ and gives Atlético the lead.
2-2 (50’). Koke fires home a penalty after a penalty committed by Álvaro Domínguez.
2-3 (81’). Lazaridis takes advantage of the indecision of the defense and the Atlético goalkeeper and give Atis the lead.
The low temperatures in Spain’s capital foreshadowed what happened in the opening minutes at the Vicente Calderón. Atlético de Madrid couldn’t have started the match worse as they were already losing to Aris 0-1 in the first minute. After De Gea misjudged a cross from the right, Koke fired into the back of the net after Javito’s first shot went off the crossbar and gave the visitors the lead. It was going to be an uphill battle for Quique’s lads. One minute later, José Antonio Reyes ripped a strong shot that hit Lazaridis’ hand. The referee didn’t call a penalty, although the Atleti players saw it clearly.
Atlético needed a victory to clinch passage to the next round of the UEFA Europa League. Aris de Thessaloniki, with the lead, settled in on the pitch, but it was the side from the Manzanares that had possession of the ball. That was exactly what made Atlético more dangerous in front of the goal.
In the 11th minute Diego Forlán got the supporters into the match. The Uruguayan, well-situated in the area, followed up a shot from Simão that was tipped by Sifakis and clanged off the post to draw level. From that moment on a different match was seen at the Calderón. The mobility of the ‘rojiblanco’ wingers and the strikers was constant. The connection between Simão, Forlán and Kun Agüero was beginning to work.
The home side followed this up five minutes later with another goal, when Kun Agüero gave a lesson on how to finish off a one-on-one against the Greek keeper. The Argentine striker got behind two defenders and beat Sifakis with a low, diagonal shot to the far post. What had begun poorly turned into a class of football from the Madrid side, which didn’t lose the ball to the Greeks. The lack of organization in defense of Héctor Cúper’s squad was clear, and the Argentinean manager tried to correct things from the bench.
Down by a goal on the scoreboad, Aris dropped back into their own area. They fought on the counter-attack, although the attacks from the home squad past the half-hour mark lost a bit of intensity. In spite of everything, Quique’s men appeared confident in their play. The Madrid manager had advised during his pre-game press conference that he wanted his team to win by playing well and keeping possession of the ball. The two teams headed into the dressing rooms with a 2-1 score, as Atlético was able to manage their resources and turn around a horrible start that began with a mistimed play by De Gea.
The second half began as the first ended, with a clear chance for Atlético. Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi made a perfect run down the right wing, but the shot from teammate Forlán hit off the bottom of the crossbar and bounded away. It was a play very similar to the one with which the Greeks began the encounter. In minuet 50, referee Ivan Bebek called a penalty on Domínguez on Lazaridis for grabbing his jersey. Koke, again, stepped up to score the ensuing spot kick. The Spaniard thus tallied a brace against Atlético de Madrid in the fifth week of the Europa League Group Stage.
With the score level, the ‘rojiblanco’ had to step it up once again. Quique Sánchez Flores repositioned his players and asked for more intensity in pressuring the ball. Diego Forlán tried his luck once again in the 60th minute by trying to fire home a pass from Simão after a nice run from the left winger. The Portuguese footballer was very active the entire game, looking for Kun and Forlán at all times. Three minutes later it was Argentine Agüero’s turn to try and beat the Greek netminder after a nice individual play. The ‘10’ tried again in minute 69, spinning between two defenders and looking for holes to give his team back the lead. The Atlético coaches weren’t content with the 2-2 score, as they were aware that they needed a victory to ensure passage to the next round. For this reason, Quique decided to send on Diego Costa in place of Simão. The manager now had three forwards on the pitch to try and snatch the win.
The grey clouds arrived for the ‘rojiblancos’ in minute 81. On what seemed like an inoffensive play, Lazaridis took advantage of a mistake between the Atlético defense and De Gea to give his squad the lead. The indecision of the Atleti back line and the lack of communication with its goalkeeper allowed the Aris ‘24’ to send a rebound into the back of the net.
Things now looked tough for the ‘rojiblancos’. Qualification was getting further and further away and Atlético would potentially have to put all of their cards on the table against Bayer Leverkusen. Aris, who did little during the course of the match, were able to take advantage of their chances and particularly the errors made by the club from Madrid. In stoppage time and with the fans’ nerves in shreds, Forlán had one last chance from outside the area, but the ball went straight into the hands of the Greek goalkeeper.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 2 (Forlán and Kun Agüero); OSASUNA, 3 (Koke, 2, one penalty, and Lazaridis).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Ujfalusi, Perea, Domínguez, Antonio López (Raúl García, 85’); Mario Suárez, Tiago (Fran Mérida, 85’), Reyes, Simão (Diego Costa, 73’); Kun Agüero and Forlán.
Aris: Sifakis; Vangjeli, Oriol, Lazaridis, Michel; Faty, Toja; Javito, Koke (Prittas, 76’), Mendrinos (Kaznaferis, 71’) and Cesarec (Carlos Ruiz, 82’).
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Cro). For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Tiago (31’), Domínguez (75’) and Raúl García (89’); for Aris booked Javito (58’), Mendrinos (81’) and Sifakis (93’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 5ª de la Fase de Grupos de la EUFA Europa League.
Goals:
0-1 (1’). Koke scores the first after De Gea misjudges a cross from the right.
1-1 (11’). Forlán follows home a rebound after a Simão shot bangs off the post.
2-1 (15’). Kun Agüero slots home with the inside of his foot to Sifakis’ and gives Atlético the lead.
2-2 (50’). Koke fires home a penalty after a penalty committed by Álvaro Domínguez.
2-3 (81’). Lazaridis takes advantage of the indecision of the defense and the Atlético goalkeeper and give Atis the lead.