Sørloth haunts former club as Atleti draw Villarreal in thrilling opener | OneFootball

Villarreal welcome Atlético de Madrid to town and the points were shared in a 2-2 draw on Monday.

Scorers: Danjuma 18′, Koke 37′ (OG); Llorente 20′, Sørloth 45+5′

It was a fiery first half at El Madrigal as these two clubs exchanged goals in their 2024/25 season opener. Despite limited efforts on target (seven total), both managed to make the most of the opportunities when they arrived.

The opener came at the hands of the hosts when Arnaut Danjuma beat Axel Witsel for pace and somehow squeezed home beyond Jan Oblak from a tight angle.

But minutes later, the visitors drew level through Marcos Llorente. The midfielder was allowed to drive into the box and rifled home a shot into the top netting for 1-1.

An unlucky moment for captain Koke then gifted Villarreal the lead again as his own goal bundled the ball beyond Oblak for a second time.

That then presented an opportunity for summer signing Alexander Sørloth to rise to the occasion for his new club against his old one.

The 28-year-old striker made a trademark run into the box and thumped home a header between two centrebacks for his 18th goal this calendar year.

It appeared all the scoring firepower was exhausted in the first half as neither side scored a late winner.

Julián Álvarez debuted off the bench but must wait for his first Atleti goal. Meanwhile, Nicolas Pepe will wonder what could have been if his free-kick didn’t hit the woodwork late on.

Looking at the table, Villarreal are fifth and Atleti are eighth.