Match report, Madrileño never stops believing | OneFootball

After the heavy defeat in Torremolinos, Atlético Madrileño faced a key match in the season as they hosted the first of their last three tough league opponents: CE Sabadell, second in the table and 4 points ahead of the red-and-whites. A crucial match to keep dreaming of possible automatic promotion to Segunda División. All of it with the Ciudad Deportiva de Alcalá as the setting.

In a fixture marked in red, despite being a Friday, and with the stands full, Fernando Torres’s side wanted to keep dreaming of automatic promotion. The match kicked off with Atlético Madrileño four points behind Sabadell, who were second, and five behind Eldense, the sole leaders. Right from the start, the Catalan side created the first warning after a mistake at the back, which Esquivel saved with a great stop. From then on, the red-and-white side took control of the match and began causing serious problems for the visitors. And after fifteen minutes, Corral threaded a good ball in behind the defense that Rafa Llorente collected and laid off to the edge of the box, where Bellotti struck it into the back of the net. A goal that, after a VAR review, was ruled out for Llorente’s offside.

It was the first warning from Fernando Torres’s team, who kept dominating and looking for Sabadell’s goal. Arnau Ortíz first and Boñar later both tried their luck from the edge of the box, without success. Until Arnau did it all himself with an absolute wonder goal. He received the ball on the left, cut inside, and with a curling left-footed shot to the keeper’s near post, scored the first goal of the night. The Atlético reserves smelled blood, and minutes later Iker Luque found himself one-on-one in the opposition box, but his angled finish wasted a very clear chance. Even so, they went into halftime with a narrow lead.

Equalizer, rout, near comeback, and loss of the head-to-head advantage

The second half began with a lot at stake and barely any chances, but five minutes in, another mistake at the back led to Sabadell’s equalizer through Joel Priego. But that goal did not intimidate the home side, who, after winning the ball back in their own half, produced a lovely move between Rayane and Arnau that Rafa Llorente finished brilliantly into the back of the net. All just three minutes after Sabadell’s equalizer. And with the 2-1 scoreline still fresh on the scoreboard, Madrileño took advantage of an error in the visitors’ build-up, and Iker Luque, after a pass from Bellotti with everything in his favor, made it 3-1.

It sparked madness in Alcalá de Henares, capped by ten frantic minutes with Arnau Ortíz scoring a top-class goal after receiving a pass from inside the red-and-white box and creating a striker’s finish for himself. He received it wide on the right, cut inside, and with his left foot, again to the near post, made it 4-1. All of this with more than twenty minutes still to play at the red-and-white training ground. And the madness was not over yet. Corral played a very risky back-pass to Esquivel, who failed to get there and gave away an avoidable penalty. However, Esquivel himself stood tall and saved the spot kick. He kept it at 4-1 and stopped the visitors from getting closer on the scoreboard.

That situation nearly happened again in the 87th minute, when the referee once more pointed to the spot in the red-and-white box, but this one was overturned for offside. The reserve side escaped, but two minutes later, after a clearance from their own half, Agustin Coscia took advantage of an Esquivel error to make it 4-2. Sabadell began to believe, knowing they needed two goals to draw level. The match entered stoppage time and, from a wide cross with no one on the end of it, after checking the monitor, the referee decided to award a soft penalty for Corral, who raised his elbow and brushed the ball. This time Esquivel could do nothing, conceding the 4-3 despite getting a touch on the ball.

With that goal and no time left for anything else, the match ended in a crucial victory for Atlético Madrileño. A bittersweet win because of the final scoreline. The 2-0 defeat in the first meeting and this Friday’s 4-3 result mean the head-to-head advantage goes to the visitors, who would finish above them in the table if they end level on points. The good news was Eldense’s draw against the bottom side, which leaves everything incredibly tight. Eldense lead with 65 points, Sabadell have 64, and Atlético Madrileño have 63. All of this with two matchdays still to play and Torres’s team visiting Eldense next Saturday.

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