Atletico Madrid bounced back from a shock loss at home to Villarreal eight days ago with a 1-0 victory against Valencia on Monday thanks to a goal from substitute Antoine Griezmann. The win helped Diego Simeone’s team get back on track after suffering that loss.
Atletico Madrid is currently in sixth place in the rankings with six points, three points behind Real Madrid in first place and Betis in second, and one point behind Barcelona, Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao in third.
The game-winning goal was scored by Griezmann in the 66th minute, with assistance from Thomas Lemar, another replacement.
Lemar produced an outstanding solo move from the left touchline and found his teammate Griezmann on the outside of the box. Griezmann unleashed a shot that was deflected off the back of the defender and went past the goalie who was powerless.
Valencia was the better team during the first half, and they thought they had opened the scoring when 19-year-old American midfielder Yunus Musah netted a stunning long-range shot in the 24th minute. Edinson Cavani, Valencia’s new signing, was watching the game from the stands. Valencia was the better side during the first half.
But after a long review by the video assistant referee, the goal was overturned because Mouctar Diakhaby had fouled Joao Felix in the build-up to the goal.
Thierry Correia was originally awarded a straight red card for a foul that he committed on Alvaro Morata of Atletico Madrid just before the halftime break.
After reviewing the video from the video assistant referee, the referee, Guillermo Cuadra, decided to give a yellow card instead.
“The absence of criteria is something that bothers me. “We never know when the referees will or will not use the VAR, and that is incredibly aggravating,” Valencia manager Gennaro Gattuso told Movistar Plus. “This is really frustrating.”
Following the halftime break, Simeone made substitutions for Griezmann and Lemar, and Atletico regained control of the game.
“We didn’t have the game under control, but we had several opportunities to score, three clear opportunities that were rejected by their goalkeeper,” Simeone said in an interview with Movistar Plus. “Their goalkeeper was key in holding us to just one goal.”
“We had some trouble getting into a rhythm, but with Lemar and Griezmann on the field, we were able to impose our gameplan with more ease in the latter stages of the encounter.”
On Saturday, Atletico will travel to take on Real Sociedad, and the following day, Valencia will play host to Getafe.