Nico González hits two stunners, Almada sent off in Atlético loss | OneFootball

On Wednesday afternoon, after the defeat in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid suffered another setback and lost 3-2 away to Elche on Matchday 33 of La Liga. Despite a brace of brilliant goals from Nico González, Diego Simeone’s side paid the price for Thiago Almada’s early red card and came away empty-handed. Nahuel Molina and Giuliano Simeone came on.

The match started in great fashion for El Cholo’s team. Nico González put together a sensational move, played a one-two with Rodrigo Mendoza, who returned it with a backheel, and the Argentina international forward finished to open the scoring. However, the home side quickly found the equalizer through David Affengruber.

Around the half-hour mark, Thiago Almada lost the ball while playing out from the back against Affengruber, then pulled him by the shirt inside the box when he was through on goal, and referee Guillermo Cuadra did not hesitate: penalty and red card. André Silva converted it, and Elche turned it around.

Atlético quickly found the equalizer after a brilliant solo play from Nico González, who carried the ball along the end line, chipped Argentine goalkeeper Matías Dituro, and headed it home. Although it was initially disallowed because the ball was judged to have gone out, VAR overturned the decision and awarded the goal.

In any case, playing with an extra man for an hour made the difference, and in the second half Eder Sarabia’s side found the winner through André Silva. It was a victory for Elche, who reached 35 points and moved out of the relegation zone. Atlético de Madrid, meanwhile, stayed on 57 points in fourth place.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.