Report: The leaders carve out a win in Tarragona | OneFootball

After the victory against Europa, Atlético Madrileño traveled to Catalonia to visit Gimnàstic de Tarragona at the Nou Estadi Costa Daurada. A vital short-term clash given the victories of Teruel and Europa at their home grounds, momentarily taking the lead from the reserve team.

Fernando Torres' team lined up as follows: Salvador Esquivel; Javier Boñar, Aleksa Puric, Daniel Martínez, Julio Díaz; Javier Serrano, Martín Bellotti; Iker Luque, Rayane Belaid, Arnau Ortiz; Omar Janneh. The same lineup as last weekend, with the final certainty that Esquivel arrived in time to defend Atlético's goal.

In the first half, the reserve team showed the image they must always maintain, especially when playing away. The team brought intensity to the duels, second plays, and aerial actions, in addition to the verticality of the wings that we all know well. Bellotti forced a corner after a great individual play, evading up to 3 opponents, along with approaches from Iker Luque and Rayane near the edge of the opponent's area.

Esquivel had to exert himself on a dangerous header after a lateral cross, making a new remarkable save to support Madrileño in the defensive phase. It wasn't until around the half-hour mark that the scoreboard was unlocked: Julio Díaz sent a precise set-piece cross to the head of Omar Janneh for the striker to head to the far post and score the first goal of the match. Second assist for Julio Díaz, third goal for Omar Janneh, and the first not scored from the penalty spot. The local team had several approaches but barely posed a threat to the red-and-white goal, and there were two more warnings for the reserve team, with Iker Luque making two powerful shots to make Dani Rebollo work. 

As the second half began, Nàstic accelerated the pace of the game seeking an equalizer, but without success. Surprisingly, Torres made his first changes before 10 minutes into the second half: Jano Monserrate and Javi Morcillo came on for Rayane Belaid and Martín Bellotti. When it seemed the Catalans were gaining momentum and pressing, Madrileño struck a decisive blow with Arnau Ortiz's stunning goal into the top corner, assisted by Javi Morcillo. Fifth goal for the winger, matching the number of goals he scored at Real Murcia several seasons ago.

Koke Mota replaced Omar Janneh as the third change, with some stoppages due to fouls and a minor incident with a ball boy with the best intentions. Mati Barboza and Carlos Giménez replaced Arnau Ortiz and Javier Boñar, marking the first minutes of the season for the Valencian defender. There was a review by the FVS for a potential handball penalty by Iker Luque, but the referee ultimately decided there was nothing punishable.

As if that wasn't enough, there was still time for another goal. Jano Monserrate forced a foul near the corner where the red-and-white fans present were cheering for the reserve team, Julio Díaz crossed, and Javi Serrano scored the third goal of the match. With some help from the defense, yes, but a goal is a goal.

With this victory, Atlético Madrileño remains the leader of group 2 of the Primera Federación with 20 points and has 6 wins in the last 7 matches. In the next round, they will host CD Eldense on Friday, November 7, starting at 21:15 in Alcalá de Henares.

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