Atletico Madrid – Sports Africa

Suarez brace lifts Atletico back to top of La Liga

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MADRID, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — Luis Suarez scored two headers in the last 12 minutes to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win away to Getafe and take them momentarily to the top of La Liga.

The Uruguayan equalized for his side, who had struggled to create chances against bottom of the table Getafe, with a looping header from Mario Hermoso’s 78th-minute cross and then won the game in the first minute of injury time after a looped cross from the right-wing.

Although Atletico coach Diego Simeone made several changes to the side that drew at home to Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday with Luis Suarez, Hector Herrera and Yannick Carrasco back in the starting 11, Atletico struggled to trouble Getafe in the first half.

The visitors had more of the ball but their own chance was a double occasion that saw David Soria save well from Suarez before Carrasco’s effort from the rebound was deflected over.

Getafe took the lead after a rare error from Jan Oblak, who failed to collect a high ball, which was clipped back into the area for Stefan Mitrovic to head against the post, with the ball bouncing into the net off the Atletico keeper.

Suarez headed against the bar in the 68th minute and Atletico’s task was made easier soon after when Getafe midfielder Carles Cunha was sent off for a bad challenge on Atletico substitute Matheus Cunha.

Getafe failed to heed the warnings and Suarez took advantage of some poor defending in the closing minutes to net his two goals, which lift Atletico above Real Madrid (who face Mallorca on Wednesday) while keeping the home side in the relegation zone with six defeats from their first six games of the season.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Radamel Falcao’s 96th-minute header gave Rayo Vallecano a surprise 2-1 win away to Athletic Club Bilbao, who had been unbeaten going into the game.

Alvaro Garcia put Rayo ahead in the fifth minute and Athletic equalized when Pathe Ciss deflected Iker Muniain’s free-kick into his own net, but the Colombian striker decided the game for the visitors at the death.

Goals from Iago Aspas and Brais Mendez gave Celta Vigo their first win of the season as they triumphed 2-0 away to Levante.

Atletico Madrid look to end drought in midweek LaLiga action

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MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Atletico Madrid will look to end their goal drought as LaLiga moves quickly into a round of midweek matches which kick off on Tuesday with three games.

Atletico make the short trip to the south of the capital to face bottom of the table Getafe, who have made their worst ever start to a top-flight season with six consecutive defeats to pile the pressure on coach Michel Gonzalez.

Getafe conceded three goals to recently promoted Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and Atletico will hope to take advantage of a lack of defensive rigor as they look to end a run of two matches without scoring a goal.

Koke and Thomas Lemar are both out for Tuesday and Geoffrey Kondogbia is also a doubt after limping out of Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Athletic Club Bilbao, but it is in attack where Diego Simeone will want to see more spark as Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez are struggling for form.

Unbeaten Athletic Club will look to build on the point they took from the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium when they entertain Rayo in an emotional return to the San Mames Stadium for Rayo coach Andoni Iraola.

Iraola made 510 appearances for Athletic Club as a player (the fourth highest number in the club’s history) and is assured of a warm welcome on his return. Rayo have started their return to the top-flight well with seven points from their first five games, but even with Radamel Falcao in the side, they may find it hard to break down a defense that has conceded just one goal so far this campaign.

Tuesday’s final game sees Levante entertain Celta Vigo in a match between two sides still looking for their first win of the season. Levante have four draws and one defeat, while Celta travel to Valencia with just one point and four defeats after Friday’s 2-1 loss at home to Cadiz.

League leaders Real Madrid entertain Mallorca on Wednesday night.

Atletico Madrid extend contract of coach Simeone

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MADRID, July 8 (Xinhua) — La Liga champions Atletico Madrid on Thursday announced the extension of the contract of coach Diego Simeone and his technical staff until the end of June 2024.

The new deal comes after Simeone led Atletico to last season’s La Liga title – the eighth trophy the club has won since he took over at the end of 2011.

His first season at the club he represented in two spells as a player saw Atletico win the Europa League, while in the 2012/13 campaign, they won the UEFA Supercup and the Copa del Rey – beating Real Madrid in the final.

The following season Atletico won the 10th La Liga title in their history, drawing the last game of the season away to FC Barcelona to claim the title, while the following campaign they won the Spanish Supercup, but suffered the first of two Champions League final defeats to Real Madrid.

2018 saw Atletico repeat their success in the Europa League and they followed that with another European Supercup success the following campaign, before their impressive success in last season’s Liga.

Simeone has been in charge of 527 matches, losing just 16 percent of those encounters as he built and has renewed a notoriously difficult team to score goals against.

Review: All to play for on last day of the season after dramatic day in La Liga

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MADRID, May 16 (Xinhua) — The race for the La Liga title will go to the final game of the season after Real Madrid won in Bilbao and Atletico Madrid produced an epic fightback to beat Osasuna and remain two points clear at the top of the table with one game left to play.

The league looked to be slipping away from Atletico in the 75th minute of their game when Ante Budimir put Osasuna ahead, seven minutes after Nacho Fernandez had put Real Madrid 1-0 up away to Athletic Club Bilbao to take them momentarily top of the table.

Atletico had previously seen a goal ruled out for a very tight offside and it looked as if the league was slipping away from them, but with eight minutes left to play, left back Renan Lodi smashed home with his left foot to level the scores and with two minutes left to play, Luis Suarez side-footed home from close to the penalty spot to mean that if Atletico win away to Valladolid in the last game of the season, they will be Champions.

Nacho’s goal kept Real Madrid in the title race after a tight game in Bilbao. He prodded home from close range after Alvaro Odriozola’s ball from the right to decide a tight game of few chances.

Real Madrid could have had a penalty for handball in the first half, but were lucky that the goal stood as TV replays showed that Karim Benzema had been in a clear offside when the cross came over and given that the ball went under his foot as he tried to score himself, referee Mateu Lahoz should have ruled it out.

FC Barcelona’s slight title hopes came to a sad end as they lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo.

Leo Messi put Barca ahead after 28 minutes, but Santi Mina equalized 10 minutes later.

Barca lost steam in the second half and wasted plenty of chances to take all three points before Clement Lenglet was sent off for seeing two yellow cards in a handful of minutes and in the last-minute Mina netted his second of the game after the ball bounced back to him off the crossbar.

The battle for the Europa and Conference league remains wide open with just one point separating Real Sociedad in fifth from Villarreal in seventh.

Real Sociedad thrashed relegation haunted Valladolid 4-1 in the Anoeta Stadium in a game they were leading 4-0 before halftime after two goals from Alexander Isak and strikes from David Silva and Adnan Januzaj.

Valladolid now have to beat Atletico Madrid next weekend to have any chance of survival.

Borja Iglesias’ 57th minute penalty gave Betis a 1-0 win at home to Huesca, which keeps them in sixth, while Huesca remain fourth from bottom, while Villarreal put four goals past Sevilla to keep the pressure on, thanks to a hat-trick from Carlos Bacca and a goal from Gerard Moreno.

The result means Villarreal also have a lot at stake when they visit Real Madrid in the last game of the season.

Alaves won 4-2 at home to Granada, while Getafe defeated Levante 2-1 with goals from Carlos Alena and Take Kubo, to end their respective relegation fears for this season.

Elche kept their hopes of survival alive with a 3-1 win away to Cadiz, which saw them score three second half goals thanks to Pere Milla, Diego Polanco and Fidel Chaves. Elche will stay up if they can get a better result than Huesca next weekend.

Eibar are the first side to be relegated after slipping to a 4-1 defeat to Valencia, with Carlos Soler and Gonzalo Guedes each scoring twice in a game watched by 3,000 fans in the Mestalla Stadium.

PHOTOS: Atletico beat Real Sociedad to take big step towards La Liga title

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MADRID, May 12 (Xinhua) — Atletico Madrid took a big step towards the La Liga title on Wednesday night thanks to a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad.

The win over arguably Atletico’s toughest rivals between now and the end of the season leaves Atletico, who have two games left, four points clear at the top of La Liga and five ahead of Real Madrid, who play in Granada on Thursday.

Yannick Carrasco opened the scoring for the home side in the 16th minute after stabbing the ball home following from a corner and Angel Correa doubled their lead in the 27th minute after a through ball from Luis Suarez.

Jan Oblak tipped an Alexander Isak effort onto the woodwork before the break, but Atletico had enough chances to have assured the win only to see them begging, only for Suarez to miss them.

Igor Zubeldia pulled a goal back for Real Sociedad from close range with eight minutes left to play and after having the game all but sewn up, Atletico were left hanging on for the final whistle.

Sevilla moved to within a point of Real Madrid and two behind Barcelona with a 1-0 win at home to Valencia.

Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half to decide a match where Sevilla did just about enough to deserve all three points.

Huesca moved out of the bottom three for 24 hours at least with a 1-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao.

Sandro Ramirez’s shot from outside the area separated the two sides, and although Huesca thoroughly deserved the win, visiting keeper, Unai Simon should have done better with his shot.

Huesca move to within a point of Getafe after the side from Madrid suffered another 1-0 defeat, with Nolito’s goal condemning them to a 1-0 defeat away to Celta Vigo, who still have a chance of a top-seven finish.

On Tuesday, FC Barcelona twice squandered the lead to surrender two vital points in 3-3 draw away to Levante, while Alaves won 2-0 away to Elche in a vital relegation battle and Osasuna won 2-1 at home to Cadiz.

Barca-Atletico key game for title race in Spain

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MADRID, May 7 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona entertain Atletico Madrid in what could be a decisive game in the race for the La Liga title on Saturday afternoon.

Atletico travel to the Camp Nou Stadium with a two-point lead over Barca and second-place Real Madrid, and three points would see them move five points clear of Barca with just two games to play and put the pressure on Real Madrid, who entertain fourth-place Sevilla on Sunday night.

A Barca win, on the other hand, would see them leapfrog Atletico and perhaps deliver a hammer blow to the hopes of Diego Simeone’s side, but at the same time, it would open the door for Real Madrid, who would go top due to their superior head to head goal difference if they could then beat Sevilla.

Barca go into the game without long term absentees, Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho and a doubt over Martin Braithwaite, who is recovering from a twisted ankle and coach Ronald Koeman looks likely to repeat his policy of playing three central defenders to allow full-backs Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba to use the full width of the pitch – which will be important against a packed Atletico midfield and defense.

“The important thing is to be true to ourselves. In some games Atletico have pressured higher than usual, we have to be prepared,” said Koeman.

“Everyone will look for their qualities to work and we know that Barca has always been an attacking team, but there are other ways of winning,” added the Barca coach.

Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will play in midfield with Leo Messi and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack, and Ousmane Dembele is ready to add pace from the bench.

The game will mean an emotional return to the Camp Nou for former Barca striker Luis Suarez, who returns to face the club he left last season.

Elsewhere, the only doubt for coach Simeone is whether or not central defender Jose Gimenez will be fit to start. Simeone looks likely to edge towards caution with holding midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia likely to start with Joao Felix on the bench.

Atletico have not looked convincing in recent games and needed Elche to miss a last-minute penalty to claim all three points last weekend, but players such as Thomas Lemar, Yannick Carrasco and Marcos Llorente can cause Barca problems on the break.

Top three all win in Spain as thrilling title race continues

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MADRID, May 2 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona came from behind to keep their La Liga hopes alive with a 3-2 win in Valencia on Sunday evening.

The win keeps Barca level on points with Real Madrid, two points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid, who visit the Camp Nou next weekend in what promises to be a season-defining game.

Things were looking grim for Barca when Gabriel Paulista headed Valencia in front in an entertaining game five minutes after the break. The Barca players protested a possible block on Marc Andre Ter Stegen, but the goal stood after a VAR check.

At that point Barca was five points behind Atletico, but Valencia defender Toni Lato gave them a lifeline with a handball seven minutes later and although Messi’s penalty was saved by Jasper Cillessen, Sergio Busquets kept the ball alive and Messi scored from close range.

Antoine Griezmann put Barca in front after Cillessen saved Frenkie de Jong’s header and Messi then fired in a stunning free-kick off the post to make it 3-1 in the 69th minute.

Carlos Soler set up an exciting finish to the game with an 83rd-minute thunderbolt, but despite a few nervous moments Barca held on for a vital win.

Atletico Madrid rode their luck to win 1-0 against relegation-threatened Elche on Saturday, thanks to Marcos Llorente’s 23rd-minute shot which took a big deflection on its way into the net.

The league leaders impressed in the first half, but had to withstand a lot of pressure in the second half and Elche missed a magnificent chance to take something from the game and deny Atletico two vital points when Fidel sent an injury-time penalty against the outside of the post after Llorente had been penalized for handball.

Real Madrid remains two points behind Atletico after two goals in the last 15 minutes saw them home against Osasuna, who defended doggedly without creating much danger themselves.

The game was in the balance until the 76th minute when Eder Militao opened the scoring with a far-post header from a corner and four minutes later Casemiro assured the points after excellent work from Karim Benzema.

Kike Garcia’s hat-trick saw Eibar end a 16-game run without a win in convincing style as they beat Alaves 3-0 to maintain a slight chance of avoiding relegation with only their second home win of the campaign.

Eibar remains five points from safety, while Huesca remains in the bottom three despite Sandro Ramiro’s goal giving them a 1-0 win at home to Real Sociedad (one of his former clubs).

Huesca climbed to fourth from the bottom for 24 hours, but Valladolid climbed back above them after Shon Weissman’s 67th-minute goal canceled out Aitor Ruibal’s 48th-minute opener for Betis in an entertaining game on Sunday lunchtime.

Betis’ draw allowed Villarreal to move into sixth after a 1-0 win at home to Getafe, which came thanks to Yeremi Pino’s superb 78th-minute goal.

Getafe was guilty of failing to take any of their chances against a subdued Villarreal, but youth-team product Yeremi gave the home team all three points with an individual move that ended with a right-foot shot into the corner of the goal.

Granada was unable to build on Thursday’s win in Barcelona as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Cadiz, who not only took all three points thanks to Ruben Sobrino’s close-range goal in the 38th minute of the game, but saw Granada end with 10 men after Roberto Soldado was shown two yellow cards within seconds of each other.

Sevilla would move to three points behind Atletico Madrid if they can beat Athletic Club Bilbao on Monday night.

Atletico and Real Madrid both win in La Liga on Saturday

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MADRID, May 1 (Xinhua) — Atletico Madrid will travel to the Camp Nou stadium next weekend as La Liga leaders after Marcos Llorente’s 23rd-minute goal gave them a 1-0 win away to Elche.

Llorente’s strike came just after Luis Suarez saw a goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision following magnificent work from Yannick Carrasco after the winger pulled the ball back for the midfielder, whose shot took a big deflection past the keeper.

However, Atletico had to ride their luck against their relegation-threatened rivals in the second half and Elche should have equalized in stoppage time when Llorente was penalized for a handball.

Elche striker Fidel took the resulting penalty kick and watched in agony as his shot hit the outside of the post and bounced wide.

Real Madrid remains two points behind Atletico after their 2-0 win at home to Osasuna, although they needed to be patient before assuring the points.

Coach Zinedine Zidane left Luka Modric, Nacho Fernandez, and Toni Kroos on the bench while bringing Eden Hazard into the starting eleven.

Osasuna keeper Sergio Herrera saved well from Hazard and Eder Militao in the first half, while Osasuna’s Chimy Avila had a goal ruled out for a clear offside.

Despite Real Madrid’s dominance of a game in which they managed over 20 shots, it wasn’t until the 76th minute that Eder Militao opened the scoring with a far-post header after a corner.

Casemiro doubled Madrid’s lead with 10 minutes left to play as his mid-hit finish fooled Herrera after Karim Benzema had carried the ball forward from the halfway line.

Eibar ended a 16-game winless run in convincing style with a 3-0 win at home over Alaves in their Basque relegation derby thanks to a hat-trick from striker Kike Garcia, who scored in the third, 50th, and 59th minutes.

It is only the second time Eibar has won at home all season and ends Alaves’ four-game unbeaten run under new coach Javier Calleja.

Eibar remains four points from safety, while Huesca temporarily climbed out of the bottom three thanks to Sandro Ramirez’s late goal against Real Sociedad, one of his former clubs.

Huesca deserved their 1-0 win, although it looked as if goalkeeper Alex Remiro would earn his side a point after Sandro took advantage of some poor defending to net the only goal of the game against a club he failed to score for in 24 appearances.

La Liga title race wide open

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MADRID, April 25 (Xinhua) — Atletico Madrid’s title challenge suffered a huge blow on Sunday night when they were beaten 2-1 away to Athletic Club Bilbao.

Although Atletico are still two points clear of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Barca will go top of the table if they win their game in hand against Granada on Thursday after they won away to Villarreal.

Athletic Club were the best side in the first half and deservedly took the lead from Alex Berenguer’s header after just eight minutes.

Atletico improved after the break and pushed the home side back into their own half, with coach Diego Simeone bringing Joao Felix and Luis Suarez into the game, but it was not until 13 minutes from time that Stefan Savic leveled following a corner kick.

However, the home side were able to recover after conceding the equalizer and Inigo Martinez powered home the winning goal from another corner four minutes from time.

FC Barcelona kept up their title challenge and moved two points behind Atletico and level on points with Real Madrid thanks to a 2-1 win away to Villarreal.

All of the goals came in the first half of a hugely entertaining match, with Samuel Chukwueze putting Villarreal ahead from a tight angle in the 26th minute only for Antoine Griezmann to turn the score around in just seven minutes.

The Frenchman put Barca level just two minutes after Chukwueze’s goal after latching onto Oscar Mingueza’s pass and dinking the ball over Sergio Asenjo in the Villarreal goal.

He then put Barca in front in the 35th minute after latching onto a dreadful backpass and slotting the ball past the keeper.

Barca’s task was made easier when Manu Trigueros was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Leo Messi in the 65th minute, but Villarreal never gave up in their attempts to find an equalizing goal.

Sevilla continue their title challenge and are now just three points behind Atletico after a 2-1 win at home to Granada, which gives Julen Lopetegui’s side seven wins from their last eight games.

Ivan Rakitic’ put Sevilla ahead from the penalty spot in the 16th minute and Lucas Ocampos doubled the lead from 10 yards out in the 53rd minute before Roberto Soldado scored a last-minute consolation for Granada.

On Saturday, Real Madrid also dropped two points in the title race, when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Betis on Saturday night.

There were few chances in the game, although Betis’ Claudio Bravo was the busier of the two keepers, saving from Rodrygo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, while at the other end, Thibaut Courtois produced a fine stop to deny Betis forward, Borja Iglesias.

Iago Aspas and Jeison Murillo scored for Celta in their 2-1 win at home to Osasuna in a game between two sides sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Lucas Boye’s 32nd-minute goal gave Elche three vital points in their battle against relegation with a 1-0 win at home to Levante, who have lost five of their last six games,

Elche climb out of the bottom three at the expense of Valladolid, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Cadiz. Oscar Plano put Valladolid ahead after 14 minutes, but in the second half Cadiz improved and Juan Cala robbed Valladolid of two vital points with his 64th-minute equalizer.

Huesca remain in the bottom three after a 2-0 defeat at home to Getafe, who take a big step away from the danger zone with goals from Enes Unal in the 22nd and 52nd minute.

Alaves were minutes away from a third win in four games under new coach Javier Calleja after John Guidetti put them ahead in the 83rd minute away to Valencia, only for Jose Luis Gaya to score a last-minute equalizer for close range for the home side, just two minutes after Alaves substitute Javi Lopez had been sent off.

Atletico Madrid go back to top as Barca put five goals past Getafe

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MADRID, April 22 (Xinhua) — Atletico Madrid moved back to the top of La Liga on Thursday night after a 2-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Huesca in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Once again, Atletico failed to excite, but controlled most of the play and took advantage of their best chances in the game, which saw Angel Correa open the scoring after beating two defenders shortly before halftime and Yannick Carrasco, who scored with just over 10 minutes to go after good work from Marcos Llorente.

FC Barcelona move back into third place (all be it with a game in hand over Atletico and Real Madrid) thanks to a 5-2 win at home to Getafe.

Leo Messi opened the scoring after running clear of the Getafe defense in the eighth minute and though Clement Lenglet’s unlucky own goal shortly afterward made it 1-1.

A dreadful error from Sofian Chalka saw him put the ball into his own net in the 27th minute before Messi’s quick feet saw him net his second of the game (and his 25th of the season) five minutes later.

Enes Unal pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 68th minute after substitute Ronald Araujo caught him, but the Uruguayan made amends in the closing minutes with a near-post header and Antoine Griezmann added a fifth in injury time.

Real Sociedad returned to fifth place after coming back from a goal down to beat Celta Vigo 2-1. Hugo Mallo’s 21st-minute header put Celta in front, but Portu equalized just four minutes later and Adnan Januzaj won the game from the penalty spot in the 38th minutes after Alexander had seen a penalty saved with the score 1-1.

Eibar is starting to look increasingly doomed to relegation after crashing to a 4-1 defeat in Granada to extend their run of games without a win to 16.

Roberto Soldado scored into the 20th and 76th minute for Granada, while Antonio Puertas and Kenedy also got on the scoresheet for the home side, while Kike Garcia gave Eibar brief hope in the 63rnd minute.

On Wednesday night Real Madrid had moved to the top of the table after a 3-0 win in Cadiz, while Sevilla remained in the title fight with a 1-0 win away to Levante.

Elsewhere, Betis and Athletic Club Bilbao drew 0-0. Elche and Valladolid drew 1-1. Alaves won 2-1 at home to Villarreal and Osasuna defeated Valencia 3-1 to continue their impressive second half of the season.

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