Atletico Madrid achieved a home victory, with a final score of 2-1, against Valencia, in LaLiga, in a game in which “los colchoneros” led at half-time, thanks to the success scored by the team captain, Koke, only for the equalizer goal of Lucas Beltran, who came off the bench of the “bats”, to be “cancelled” in the second half by the execution of another player introduced during the game, Antoine Griezmann. Despite obtaining the three points and continuing the impressive series of 11 consecutive victories recorded at the “Estadio Metropolitano”, the “rojiblancos” team remained in fourth place, one length behind Villareal, while Valencia is in the “basement” of the current ranking.
Atletico Madrid hosted Valencia in the 15th round of LaLiga, in a duel full of tradition and historical significance. Before this round, the “rojiblancos” were in fourth place in the general standings, with a total of 31 points, four lengths behind Villareal, so that a climb to the podium, in the event of victory, would not have been possible, from a mathematical point of view. On the other hand, the “bats” occupied the 16th position, accumulating 15 points up to this point of the season in the Spanish championship, being equal, in this respect, with teams such as Girona and Osasuna.
In the middle of last week, the students trained by Diego Simeone managed to overcome PSV Eindhoven, final score 3-2, after two trips in a row, against those from Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, respectively, in which the group from the Spanish capital failed to register any positive result. However, in their last appearance on home soil, in LaLiga, Atletico Madrid had defeated Real Oviedo, by two goals difference, and, before the confrontation played in the company of Valencia, the team from the “Estadio Metropolitano” had tied 10 consecutive successes on this arena in all competitions.
The Argentine technician of the hosts could not rely on the services of players such as Alex Baena, Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente at the time of this meeting, all of them being unavailable, due to injuries, while Carlos Corberan did not use Mouctar Diakhaby, Luis Rioja and Cesar Tarrega in this match. In the last five direct confrontations between the two teams, Atletico Madrid had won four times, and the last success of the group at the “Estadio Mestalla” in the company of the “rojiblancos” club was in 2023, at the beginning of the season, when the current top scorer of the LaLiga team, Hugo Duro, scored twice.
If we were to refer to the duels between the two teams that took place in Atletico Madrid’s own “home”, Valencia has not won such a game since 2011, when the guests obtained the three points, thanks to a single goal difference, at the “Estadio Vicente Calderon”. In the Spanish championship, before the starting whistle of the confrontation that took place against the “rojiblancos” club, the “bats” had not lost since the beginning of November, when the players trained by Carlos Corberan would give in to the Real Madrid, at the “Santiago Bernabeu”.
A first goal opportunity appeared at the beginning of the match, when Nahuel Molina’s wrong pass left Hugo Duro alone with Jan Oblak, but the Spanish striker’s pretentious completion, a “lob” type, fell on the crossbar of the goal of the team from the capital of Spain. Pablo Barrios, in the 13th minute of the confrontation at the “Estadio Metropolitano”, sent a pass to Alexander Sorloth in a future position, and, after entering the penalty area, the Norwegian striker was denied his shot sent to the far corner by Julen Agirrezabala.
The opening of the scoring came after a set piece, when the initial execution belonging to Pablo Barrios was blocked with his foot by the visitors’ goalkeeper, but the Valencia goalkeeper could not intervene in the execution sent from close range by the hosts’ captain, Koke, who fulfilled a simple formality and scored with a placed shot, on the ground, not being marked by any opponent. The “bats” reply was not long in coming, but, after a ball was rejected by the “rojiblancos” defense, Filip Ugrinic’s long-range execution reached the lawn where the Atletico Madrid fans were.
An important chance to restore parity in this duel appeared in the 30th minute, at the end of a set piece executed by Pepelu, and, at the end, Valencia’s central defender, Eray Comert, was the one who, from near the posts defended by the Slovenian goalkeeper of Atletico Madrid, sent, from falling, just over the opponent’s goal. The “Bats” finally scored, in the 35th minute of the match, when, also from a corner, the ball reached Pepelu, and the guest player scored from a few meters, without giving Jan Oblak much hope. However, after checking the phase, the goal of the team led from the sidelines by Carlos Corberan was canceled, due to an offside position in which Hugo Duro was.
The first goal-scoring opportunity of the second half came at Valencia’s goal, with Pablo Barrios’ cross finding Nicolas Gonzalez in a good position, but the Argentine attacking midfielder’s header was saved by Julen Agirezabala. Julian Alvarez tried his luck from long range, but the Atletico Madrid striker’s shot went wide of the goalkeeper’s goal. Valencia equalised in the 63rd minute, when Lucas Beltran, who had come on during the match, fired a long-range shot, but the shot did not give Jan Oblak much hope.
A late effort from Giuliano Simeone caught the visitors’ defence by surprise, and the Argentine’s header was deflected by an opponent, although the position in which the son of the coach of the team from the Spanish capital was in was a favorable one to score the second goal of this confrontation. Antoine Griezmann, coming off the bench, managed to give his team the advantage, after flawlessly taking over a pass received from Marc Pubill with his left foot, and then scoring with a shot placed at the short corner, shaking the net of the goal defended by Julen Agirezabala. Immediately afterwards, Alexander Sorloth scored with a shot sent to the far corner, but the Nordic striker’s success was not validated by the referees’ brigade for offside.
Following this result, Atletico Madrid accumulated a total of 34 points, being one point behind Villareal and failing to climb the podium in the domestic competition, unlike the “bats” who remain in the “red” zone of the current hierarchy. In the next round of LaLiga, the team from the Spanish capital will play away, in the company of Girona, and Valencia will receive the visit of Mallorca. Until the return to the Spanish championship, the two teams will play in the “King’s Cup”, where the “rojiblancos” group will meet the Baleares, and the students trained by Carlos Corberan will meet Gijon, both clubs from the first division of Spanish football will travel for these matches.