Atlético burns with Granada
Simeone’s men take a step back in their fight for second place after drawing at home
MADRID, 20 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid played with fire and burned this Wednesday against Granada (0-0) in a lukewarm match, without clear chances except in the final minutes, which represents a new step back for the rojiblancos for taking second place in the Santander League and for closing the presence in ‘Champions’ next year.
Diego Pablo’s team had a bad afternoon against his people, stuck in construction and unlucky in the few opportunities that could change the goalless draw. Neither the stopped ball, nor a good final stretch could prevent it. The slip gives continuity to the rojiblanca irregularity after the ‘Champions’ quarterfinals.
Last Sunday against Espanyol the victory came in the last breath, before receiving City there was a defeat in Mallorca and this Wednesday there was a new tie that -despite placing him second- is unreal because Barça has two games less and is a single point. Sevilla also takes a breath at the same distance and Betis is four with one game to go.
The afternoon was cold from the start, with half the public entering the Metropolitano at the wrong time due to the schedule and without the necessary ‘oops’ to excite the stands. The Argentine Rodrigo de Paul was the first to try it with a shot from the edge of the area that Maximiano saved after 20 minutes.
Ten later it was Griezmann who claimed a possible penalty from Víctor Díaz. The Frenchman, who received a fortuitous blow in the clearance, showed his bleeding ankle to the referee, but it was not enough even to go to the VAR. Aitor Karanka’s men gained strength as the minutes went by and the play went very well for them.
The order of the Nasrids -with Duarte and Escudero in an expeditious plan- was vital for the 0-0 to be the score at the break. After passing through the changing rooms, Atlético tightened their grip with even more possession and with shots from the edge against the defensive tangle posed by their rival. Correa wasted no time in shooting from mid-range.
Before Griezmann was also close with a shot from outside the area, but Granada weaved its nets there again, which found itself comfortable in the difficulty to try to surprise the counterattack. Petrovic had it with a shot that ended up being made by a stranger before making life difficult for Jan Oblak. The point was more than enough for his fight for permanence.
It was then that Atlético put the sixth gear to try to repeat the script of last Sunday, but there was no such luck for the colchoneros. Savic grazed the goal with an imperial header from a corner and Cunha crashed it into the post after stirring in the area. Carrasco, the most active, also wanted and could not from the left wing. Even Simeone made his son Giuliano debut in the final minutes in search of the miracle.
But it could not be. The tie rewards a Granada that will continue in relegation places but only one point behind Cádiz. Karanka managed to make his debut by changing the trend and improving the mood of a team that presented other credentials in the Spanish capital. Those of Simeone, for their part, will have to sweat the fat drop if they do not want more scares at the end of the season.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 0 – GRANADA, 0.
–ALIGNMENTS.
ATHLETIC: Oblak; Llorente (Giuliano Simeone, min.91), Savic, Hermoso, Reinildo (Vrsaljko, min.46); Serrano (Luis Suárez, min. 46), Koke, De Paul, Carrasco; Griezmann (Cunha, min.70) and Correa (Lodi, min.65).
GRANADA: Maximiano; Quini, Victor Diaz, Duarte, Escudero; Petrovic, Collado (Montoro, min.76), Luis Milla; Puertas (Raba, min.85), Machís (Uzuni, min.62) and Luis Suárez (Bacca, min.76).
–REFEREE: Gil Manzano (C.Extremeño). He yellow carded Quini (min.3), Escudero (min.58), Víctor Díaz (min.74), Puertas (min.83) and Duarte (min.92) at Granada; and Reinildo (min.29), Savic (min.45+4), De Paul (min.78) and Vrsaljko (min.85) at Atlético.
–STADIUM: Metropolitan Wanda. 43,517 spectators.