Atletico Madrid withstand fightback to edge top-six rivals Real Betis
Looking to build on their near-perfect home record in the league this season, Atletico needed to wait just seven minutes to take the lead - Mario Hermoso won the ball in Betis territory, and he continued his run as the ball was worked to Memphis Depay on the right.
The Dutchman played a low cross towards Hermoso, but as Hector Bellerin cut the ball out, it ricocheted off German Pezzella, then goalkeeper Rui Silva, and in off the post.
The hosts’ pressure was unrelenting. Silva made a smart double save to deny Depay then, Alvaro Morata was awarded a penalty by the VAR in the 25th minute, having been brought down by Silva. However, the goalkeeper went the right way to deny Morata and got up well to save not one but two rebounds.
But as Silva had made amends for his own goal with the penalty save, Morata made amends for his penalty miss before the half was out. A corner was cleared only as far as De Paul on the edge of the box, his shot was saved by Silva, but Morata was on hand to head the rebound.
Betis’ half was summed up by Riad’s free header from a corner falling limply into the arms of Jan Oblak as the half-time whistle blew.
Oblak was again on header-saving duties early after the restart, keeping out Willian Jose’s effort following an accurate cross, but he was unable to prevent Betis getting back into the game just after the hour mark.
Johnny Cardoso played the ball square to William Carvalho 25 yards out, and he had time to set himself and curl a wonderful effort into the top corner - his first of the season.
Into the final 15 minutes, the Slovenian goalkeeper was integral in Diego Simeone’s men holding their advantage, saving an Ayoze Perez effort before reacting brilliantly to turn Gabriel’s deflected strike onto the post three minutes later, as Atleti held out for a welcome win before their midweek second leg against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
Meanwhile, Betis’ five-match unbeaten run comes to an end, as they are still to win away to a top-half team this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
