La Liga – Atletico narrowly beat Cadiz (2-1) before facing Manchester United and Griezmann disappoints

Not a bad joke. Atletico Madrid seized the opportunity to temporarily lead by five points over Betis and thus consolidate its presence in the top four by defeating Cadiz (2-1) at the Wanda Metropolitano on Friday evening. Alvaro Negredo responded to Joao Felix’s opener, but the final word went to Rodrigo de Paul in the second half. Transparent, Antoine Griezmann has been replaced at the hour mark.

The challenge in this meeting was twofold for Colchoneros: to keep the pressure on FC Barcelona – taking five points from Betis – and prepare well for the Champions League Round of 16 against Manchester United (Tuesday 21st). Joao Felix had these imperatives in mind and opened the scoring very early in the match by penalizing a foul by Jeremias Ledesma (1-0, 3).

After the Portuguese’s sixth achievement in the league, Atletico Madrid stopped playing and were content to fend off the opponent’s attacks in the role they mastered to perfection. Diego Simeone’s men did not shoot on target, except for Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco’s attempt, which looked more like a sinister position than a shot (24th place). But Cadiz did not appear as a victim of atonement, despite his unenviable position in the first landing.

Paul’s first goal

Gadinatos led the match in the first half, owning up to 65% after 20 minutes. Their sixth attempt was the right one: Álvaro Negredo, inserted in the middle of Jose Maria Gimenez and Reinildo, hit a superb header into the right small-netting helpless Lian Oblak before the first half (1-1, 44).

The same scenario in the second act: Atlético de Madrid showed indifference, Antoine Griezmann, non-existent, left before the hour had passed and it was finally the entry of Angel Correa that settled the situation. The Argentine is behind Rodrigo de Paul’s winning goal – his first in the league – his shot after being pushed halfway by an uninspiring Ledesma (2-1, 68). And if Cadiz exerted constant pressure on Oblak’s goal, Colchoneros caught the eye, despite the red card from Javi Serrano collected a few minutes after his appearance on the grass (88th place). Before leaving for the injury, Jose Maria Jimenez, repulsed the recovery from Luis Hernandez with a header on his line (74).

With such a victory in sight, Atlético Madrid are sure to hold their place in the top four at the end of the 28th day of La Liga and even temporarily double Barcelona’s squad. The Colchoneros family can now consider their trip to Manchester. However, it will be necessary to provide a better face for Old Trafford to consider qualifying for the Champions League quarter-finals.