Angel leads Atletico to vital victory

Atletico have fallen short in their usual high standards in recent weeks, losing three of their previous four games ahead of Girona’s visit to the Civitas Metropolitano. If the hosts were low on confidence following a poor run of form then they would have appreciated the neat combination play between Antoine Griezmann and Ángel Correa that led to the opening goal in the fifth minute. The Frenchman’s lofted cross reached the back post, where Correa was on hand to flick the ball past an unmoved Juan Carlos.

After conceding within the opening 10 minutes for the second straight game, Girona were tasked with offering a response, and although chances were not forthcoming, they enjoyed a number of promising spells of possession. However, the visitors may have counted themselves fortunate that the deficit was just the one goal at half-time, after Matheus Cunha was thwarted by Carlos on a couple of occasions.

The Girona stopper may have denied Atletico a second goal before the break, but his positive first-half performance was quickly forgotten within three minutes of the restart. Carlos was forced into a mistake by the determined pressing of Correa, who intercepted the goalkeeper’s pass before slotting home his second goal of the game

As the contest entered the final half-hour, the hosts seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory. However, what seemed to be a routine win was made all the more difficult when Atletico loanee Rodrigo Riquelme pulled a goal back against his parent club, with a deflected long-range effort.

An unlikely comeback was so nearly realised when Aleix Garcia’s thunderous effort looked destined to beat Jan Oblak, but the Slovenia international pulled off an outstanding save to push the ball onto the post. In the closing moments, Garcia was denied for a second time by Oblak, whose defiant goalkeeping condemned Girona to a third consecutive defeat.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)