Molina, González, Almada struggle as Atlético drift from the top | OneFootball

Atlético de Madrid experienced a day to forget during their visit to the Municipal de Butarque. The team led by Diego Simeone suffered a resounding 3-0 defeat against Rayo Vallecano, a result that definitively puts them out of the race for LaLiga, leaving them 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid. Despite the morale boost from their recent victory over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, the “Colchonero” side once again showed their worst face in the domestic tournament.

The match featured a strong Argentine presence from the start: Nahuel Molina, Nicolás González, and Thiago Almada were all in the starting eleven. However, the team failed to find their footing and went into halftime two goals down, with goals from Fran Pérez in the 40th minute and Óscar Valentín in the 45th. In the second half, Simeone looked for answers on the bench and brought on Julián Álvarez, but the “Araña” could do little against a Rayo side that sealed the result in the 76th minute with a header from Nobel Mendy. Meanwhile, Juan Musso and Giuliano Simeone remained among the substitutes without seeing any playing time.

With this setback, Atlético remains in fourth place with 45 points, but the gap to the top now seems insurmountable. Inconsistency continues to be the main enemy for the Argentines in Madrid, who, after losing to Betis last matchday and now in Vallecas, will need to refocus their objectives to secure Champions League spots and put all their hopes in the cup competition.

Sunday’s Results in Spain

In addition to Atleti’s stumble, Sunday in Spain saw Athletic Bilbao win 2-1 over Real Oviedo and Betis claim a 2-1 victory against Mallorca. In the Valencian derby, Levante couldn’t deliver at home and fell 2-0 to Valencia.

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