Report: Star Giuliano leads Atlético to first away win | OneFootball

First away win for Atleti, in a match where the "colchoneros" excelled in the first half, building the lead that gave us the three points, and in the second half, they knew how to endure in defense, with Betis dominating and trying to get back into the game.

Atleti started at La Cartuja, as they almost always do, by dominating and creating chances. Already in the second minute, Cholo Simeone's men warned with a pass from Giuliano that almost connected with the spider at the goalmouth. A good opportunity that materialized into a sensational goal in the next play. It was after a corner that reached Giuliano as if it fell from the sky, achieving a magnificent volley that hit the post, impossible for the goalkeeper, resulting in a zero to one.

Something that was not unusual for Atleti. The "rojiblancos" took the lead again with an early goal, but after that magnificent start, the question loomed over La Cartuja whether the result would hold.

And the team achieved something we couldn't do in previous league matches away from home. After taking the lead, we scored the second goal, which ended up being decisive for the course of events in the match.

A goal that took time to arrive (minute 45, with a great goal from Baena), with opportunities from Nico González in the first quarter of the match (crossing with a shot saved by Pau López), and also with chances from Betis, with Cucho's layoff at the edge of the area for Abde, who shot very close to the post and with a prodigious save by Oblak, completely saving the day.

But the second goal was delayed, even though the spider could have scored at the half-hour mark, after a great play (another one) by Giuliano, who fought with everyone to keep the ball alive in a counterattack, but with little definition from Julián in front of the goal.

The one who was accurate was Álex Baena, after a cross from the spider, which the player from Almería collected to cross it to the far post, a great goal that provided the necessary calm for the second half.

Suffering with reward and merit

In the second half, the offensive rhythm shown in the first half decreased, and possession changed sides (although Betis also had their opportunities in the first half). But in the second half, it was a monologue from Betis, but with very high defensive solidity from Atleti, with very important interventions from Oblak at key moments, like in a clear chance from Lo Celso in the 67th minute or the save against Bakambu in the 80th minute.

Aside from that, in the 56th minute, a foul in favor of Betis at the edge of the area, due to Gallagher's handball while trying to cut a ball to generate a counterattack, created Betis's best chance. A powerful shot from Abde that crashed against the crossbar, with Oblak stretching to try to reach the ball.

The worst of what happened in the second half was Barrios's injury, who left the field in the 54th minute due to discomfort in the abductor.

The best chance for Atleti in the second half came right at the start of the second half, with a filtered pass from Hancko to Nico González, who couldn't quite capitalize on it to score, but made a good decision, didn't finish, and the chance to score the third goal slipped away.

The best thing was the victory, the worst was Barrios's injury and the drop in performance when both Julián Álvarez and Álex Baena left the field. But in the end... three points.

And the fight continues, with a November full of home matches and the dream of cutting points from Madrid, just as it was done to Barça, and that will bring us back into the mix as the end of the first round approaches.

Now, to think about Sevilla.

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