La Liga round-up: Depay delight for Atletico as Valencia fall at home
Celta Vigo 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Memphis Depay struck late with his first goal for 10-man Atletico Madrid to hand his new club a dramatic 1-0 victory away at Celta Vigo, who are now winless in their last nine matches with Diego Simeone’s men.
Both teams came into this contest in decent form, with Celta Vigo having won back-to-back matches in La Liga since returning from the World Cup break, while Atletico had lost just once in the same period to runaway leaders Barcelona.
With this in mind, an entertaining affair could have been on the cards in Northeast Spain, however the first half was desperately poor from an attacking perspective, with neither side showing any confidence or fluidity going forward. Full-back Óscar Mingueza’s effort from distance, which went wide of the right post, was a rare effort on goal.
Atletico have the joint second-best defensive record in La Liga, and so it was little surprise that they were able to keep their hosts at bay, however Diego Simeone will have wanted to see more from his side in the other aspect of their play in a lacklustre first half.
Just three minutes after the restart, he almost got his wish when Llorente squared to Álvaro Morata inside the area, but the striker had his shot saved low down to his left by Iván Villar.
Then, with the hour mark approaching, the visitors counted their lucky stars when Iago Aspas’ shot from close range rolled under Jan Oblak, who was able to recover and get back just in time to prevent the ball crossing the line.
The game was in desperate need of a spark inside the last 20 minutes, and those in attendance got just that.
Despite losing Stefan Savić to a red card, and seeing Aspas hit the crossbar with the resulting free-kick, Simeone’s men defied the odds once again as Depay hooked the ball home from close range to stun the home fans and consolidate his side’s place in fourth, while Celta Vigo remain 13th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid)
Elsewhere in La Liga:
Getafe 1-1 Rayo Vallecano
Stole Dimitrievski’s late error saw 10-man Getafe rescue a draw against Rayo Vallecano to go within two points of safety in La Liga.
Valencia 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
A second-half strike from Oihan Sancet earned Athletic Bilbao a narrow 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Valencia at the Estadio de Mestalla, as the Lions extended their unbeaten record in La Liga H2Hs to seven matches.
Sevilla 2-0 Mallorca
Jorge Sampaoli’s struggling Sevilla side were comfortable 2-0 winners against Real Mallorca, with Los Rojiblancos now unbeaten in each of their last four home matches in La Liga.
Almeria 2-3 Real Betis
Real Betis moved up to fifth place in La Liga after winning a five-goal thriller at Almería. A first ever away H2H victory ended Los Verdiblancos’ two-match losing streak and moved them to within a point of the UEFA Champions League places.
