Atletico Madrid finally return to winning ways before Arsenal against miffed Athletic Club | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid 3-2 Athletic Club

Atletico Madrid prepared for their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal with a victory over Athletic Club, in a bid to wash off the disappointment of their Copa del Rey final defeat. They left behind a miffed Athletic Club side, who will be trying to work out how they let the match escape them.

One of the question marks over their European semi-final is whether usual starter Jan Oblak will be in goal on Wednesday, or if the in-form Juan Musso would begin, but the Slovenian was up to the task early on. After a beautifully disguised cross from Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta to the back post found Gorka Guruzeta, Oblak was neatly across to block an accurate effort across goal. Early on, Los Colchoneros were seeking to find Griezmann inside with the chance to spring Alexander Sorloth and Giuliano Simeone loose into the space, and on a couple of occasions did so, but without end results.

Neither side looked especially firm in their defensive duties in the opening 20 minutes, with Inaki Williams crafting a second excellent cross for Unai Gomez this time, but he was left cursing his inability to control on the run, Oblak at his mercy. It was Athletic that struck first though. A corner from the right was powered home by Aitor Paredes, breathing fresh confidence into Los Leones. Moments later, a brilliant flick from Guruzeta opened up the Atletico backline, but with a two-on-one, Gomez could not get the pass in front of Inaki Williams. As he tried to set himself for the shot, Marc Pubill crunched into an excellent challenge. There was little arguing that Athletic were the more comfortable of the two, without necessarily dominating.

Struggling for rhythm, a Giuliano Simeone cross ten minutes before the break woke the crowd up, picking out Sorloth in the box. Despite the space he found, he was always struggling to generate the necessary power to beat Unai Simon – to that point untested. Apart from the general flow of the game consisting mainly of Atletico attacks breaking down and Athletic breaking forward, it was symbolic of the fact it was all a little too comfortable for the visiting side.

Alex Baena and Alexander Sorloth find their groove

Diego Simeone did get a reaction from his side after the break though. Baena picked up the ball on the left side, and his ball across wrongfooted Dani Vivian at the near post. Griezmann could barely believe his luck when he was able to prod home inside the six-yard box. Having watched a rather stodgy first half, the Metropolitano could barely believe they were in front ten minutes into the second period.

Pablo Barrios, on his first start in over a month, robbed Ruiz de Galarreta in the middle of the pitch, driving forward and laying it left to Sorloth. A neat one-two with Baena around right-back Andoni Gorosabel allowed Sorloth in on goal, and he did not hesitate to slot home Baena’s second assist in six minutes. Barrios was beginning to impose himself in midfield, when he pulled up short in the 58th minute. It was his first start in over six weeks, and came to a premature end again.

The positive for Atletico was that they were attacking with far more purpose and precision than in the first period, and Athletic Club’s threat had become almost null. Ernesto Valverde’s side recompose though, following something of a lull in the game. Entering the final 20 minutes, Los Leones were the side spending time in the right areas, but without much of the same edge they displayed in the first half.

Atletico, probably thinking about their Champions League duties again after a host of changes from Simeone, were happy to let the game drift towards the final whistle. Valverde’s side seemed to be lacking the craft to break down their opponents, and the ball was swept out to Robert Navarro time and again in the hope he would conjure a magical cross.

That hope was a translation for desperation. In stoppage time, Nahuel Molina lofted Sorloth into space to race clear of the Athletic defence, and with the sufficient gap to the chasing Paredes, passed it into the corner one-on-one with Unai Simon. That looked to be the final word, but a set-piece deep into stoppage time saw Guruzeta grab a goal in the 96th minute. By the time he did, the final minute of stoppage time had passed though, and even with one bonus minute, Athletic knew their second would do little to the result.

Finally returning to winning ways in La Liga, the ultras gave their side a bone-shaking reception at the final whistle, their first chance to do so since the Copa del Rey final defeat. While Atletico’s focus has been elsewhere, it snaps a four-game losing streak and gives Los Rojiblancos a first La Liga win since the 14th of March. The bright spots were the two assists for Baena, and a brace for Sorloth, but if Simeone started a strong team to bring back some of confidence from before the final, this  performance was not quite fluid enough to convincingly do so.

Valverde’s glare at the final whistle was certainly justified. Athletic had a major opportunity to restore their self-confidence of yesteryear with a big result, but saw it slip from their grasp almost imperceptably. Without being under pressure for any significant spell, Athletic return to Bilbao without points, and El Txingurri maintains, still with some fear of relegation.