Atletico de Madrid defeated Girona, with a final score of 1-0, in the 37th round of the Spanish championship, in a match in which the only goal was scored by Ademola Lookman, from the decisive pass signed by Antoine Griezmann, a situation with which the fate of the three points was “written” and at the end of which the Catalan group is close to being relegated from La Liga. The French striker, in addition to the decisive pass he provided for the goal scored by the Nigerian player, reached the milestone of 500 official games that he played in the “rojiblancos” jersey, and, at the end of the match, he “said goodbye” to the supporters in tears.

The match at the “Estadio Metropolitano” started with the team led from the sidelines by Michel on the offensive, and in the fourth minute, Bryan Gil started a dangerous run on the right flank of the attack, and, after a foray into the center, the Spanish footballer tried to finish with a shot to the far corner, but Jan Oblak had no major problems with this execution. Then, the free kick executed from the edge of the box by Azzedine Ounahi was deflected by an opposing defender of Atletico de Madrid, and, from an acrobatic execution, Vitor Reis sent towards the goal, but the Slovenian goalkeeper retained the ball on the first attempt.

Later, Ademola Lookman searched for and found Antoine Griezmann with a pass in the future position, and, from a complicated angle, the French “seven” of the “los colchoneros” group shot at the short corner, but Paulo Gazzaniga opposed it. Alex Baena’s corner kick was resumed with a header, from the near post, into the right post of the goal defended by the Argentine goalkeeper, by David Hancko. Halfway through the first half, Antoine Griezmann was served by Marc Pubill, with a header, inside the penalty area, and the right-footed cross of the footballer from the Hexagon allowed Ademola Lookman to complete, from a few meters, with a little luck, that action, opening the score.

Viktor Tsygankov tried to reply immediately, but his free kick from around 25 metres was saved by Jan Oblak, twice. A few minutes later, Azzedine Ounahi made his way through the home team’s defenders and fired from a tricky angle, but the captain of Diego Simeone’s team dived and kept his team in the lead overall. In the 31st minute of the match, on the counterattack, Alex Baena, after receiving a ball from Ademola Lookman, put Antoine Griezmann in the spotlight, but the 2018 world champion’s weak left-footed finish did not cause much difficulty for the Argentine goalkeeper of Girona, who had to face him twice in the same phase.

Alberto Moreno wasted the most important chance to equalize for Michel’s team, when the former Liverpool left-back, among other clubs in his career, dribbled past several opponents and fired a powerful shot into the far corner, but Jan Oblak’s intervention was a quality one, and Atletico de Madrid would hold on. Five minutes before the final whistle of the first half, the same Alberto Moreno, thanks to his remarkable speed, created superiority in the visitors’ attack, but Viktor Tsygankov’s return shot was parried by the Slovenian goalkeeper of the hosts. In the second act, the same Ukrainian footballer of the Catalan group fired a volley, but exactly in the direction of Jan Oblak.

Azzedine Ounahi had a huge chance to score for Girona in the 89th minute of the match, when an erroneous clearance from the “rojiblancos” defense reached the shoe of the guest’s creative man, but his shot was deflected wide by the Slovenian goalkeeper, and then Viktor Tsygankov shot high into the air. Atletico de Madrid eventually prevailed, accumulating 69 points and being tied, in this respect, with Villareal, ahead of the direct duel between the third and fourth place holders in the general standings in the last stage of the current season. On the other hand, Michel and his students are in the first relegation position before the match that will take place against Elche, at home, in what will be the “final” for maintaining La Liga.

Antoine Griezmann played his last match for Los Colchoneros before leaving for the United States to play for Orlando City, and the French striker was visibly emotional at the end of the match when he gave a speech to the fans, asking for forgiveness from the supporters for his decision to wear the Barcelona shirt in his career, among other things. The French striker spent 10 seasons at Atletico de Madrid, during which he was involved in 500 matches, scored a total of 212 goals and provided another 100 assists.