After a three-game Windless Streak in which Atletico Madrid was released from the top of the La Liga table, Los Rojiblancos stuck a second victory in Real Valladolid on Monday evening. La Pucela showed more battles than in most weeks, but in the end I could not sustain.
The game started in a fairly formal way, up to seven minutes of madness it brought it to life. After a Valladolid set piece saw a handball in Atletico punished, La Pucela was suddenly in the ride chair. Moussa Sylla sent Jan Oblak in the wrong direction with his penalty and drilled it low and centrally. However, that woke up Atletico, who responded within two minutes. Giuliano Simeone was too agile for Javi Sanchez, and Valladolid coach Alvaro Rubio must have cursed his silk because he had put their lead down so quickly.
Julian Alvarez stepped up to send Andre Ferreira in the wrong way, and Atletico drove on. Simeone came again behind the right behind a ball over the top of Marcos Llorente. Ferreira was able to easily cut in and could not keep his list signs out.
In the room of seven minutes, Los Rojiblancos stood in the front and only last-minute Valladolid blocks saved a third for the break. Atletico was dominant for the rest of the game, but it cannot be said that Valladolid did not fight for it – something they have been accused of their fans this season.
Ammends before his sentence earlier, a deflected Sanchez-free kick had Oblak-Helpze for the second time just before the hour. Atletico, however, proved that they did indeed have extra equipment on La Pucela in the last half hour.
A third penalty went to their advantage, after Llorente had taken a great turn and struck Henrique, who brought him down. Alvarez repeated the trick from the first half for his 26th goal of the season with 20 minutes left. With 12 minutes to go, Alexander Sorloth left his mark. Another trip to the right saw Alvarez Force a rescue, and Sorloth was present to hit the rebound home.
Valladolid remains rooted to the bottom of the table, the distance to the safety that remains at 14 points, but with Leganes now 19th and 12 in the distance. Atletico cuts the gap back to three points with Real Madrid, because they hope to ensure that the last quarter of the season has some meaning for them.
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