Griezmann decided the Red & White classic
A goal by Griezmann in the 74th minute was worth a golden triumph against Athletic. A good game from our team, who deserved the victory against an opponent who fought and fought hard.
The match between Atlético and Athletic started with an emotional tribute to the Basque team for its 125 years of history and with a fast-paced game on both sides. The dominance began on the home side's side, with the first two chances coming from Molina, with a high shot, and Llorente, who saved from Agirrezabala. The response from the Bilbao side was not long in coming and it was Sancet who tried but his shot went over the crossbar. One of the best chances of the first half came when Griezmann crossed to the far post and Carrasco couldn't get a clear header on target, but the Basque goalkeeper saved.
Shortly after, Llorente's run to the byline ended with a cross that was saved by the Athletic goalkeeper. And the clearest chance came in the 37th minute, with Correa's pass to Carrasco inside the area and the Belgian's shot was miraculously saved by Agirrezabala. The visitors had their clearest chances in the final stretch of the first half. Firstly, a cross from Iñaki Williams was headed high by Dani García and, in the 45th minute, a cross from Nico Williams was headed down by Sancet and saved by Oblak. That was the way to the break, with the initial result.
The second half had a red and white Madrilenian colour from the start. Good play, dominance and chances for Simeone's team. First it was Carrasco who tried his luck with the Basque goalkeeper deflecting to a corner. In the 54th minute it was Nico Williams who forced Oblak to clear to the corner, but just before being substituted Correa had another chance that Agirrezabala turned behind for a corner.
But the best was yet to come. Griezmann won a ball back near the centre circle, passed to Memphis, who laid it off for the '8', who cut inside and crossed with a tight left-footed shot to make it 1-0. Shortly afterwards, another counter-attack saw Memphis play a through ball to Morata, who shot just wide of the post. However, despite the attempts of both sides, the game ended in victory for our side thanks to Griezmann's goal.
