Atlético seals its place in the Champions League and presses to be runner-up

The mattress team beats (3-0) an Osasuna with significant casualties

MADRID, 21 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Atlético de Madrid beat CA Osasuna 3-0 this Sunday on matchday 35 of LaLiga Santander, with goals from Yannick Carrasco, Saúl Ñíguez and Ángel Correa to mathematically seal their place in the next Champions League, thus beating to a rival who accused his important absences too much.

At the Cívitas Metropolitano, Diego Pablo Simeone’s pupils were far superior to an Osasuna that did not have Abde Ezzalzouli or Moi Gómez in its ranks. Without both, the rojillo team lost two key figures this season, with the Copa del Rey runner-up, although perhaps too long on a league scale.

The team coached by Jagoba Arrasate is still in the middle of the fight to be seventh, which would give them a ticket to the 2023/24 Conference League. However, visiting the mattress fiefdom has been in recent years a particular visit to the dentist, falling in all ways and almost all colors.

And on this occasion, history repeated itself despite a first half of containment. Although Osasuna endured the local attacks, the wall collapsed on the brink of rest. As a result of an offensive play by the Pamplonicas, Atlético stole the ball in their own half and, in fits and starts, set up a counterattack with Antoine Griezmann on the run.

In a jump inside the midfield circle, Álvaro Morata hit an Osasunista player in the neck. It was the toll to pay for the ball to reach Griezmann, who entered the rival area on the right side and assisted Carrasco on the opposite side, a ‘death pass’ for the Belgian to push into the net on 1 -0.

Upon returning from the locker room, the dynamics remained practically the same and the second of the account carried the signature of Saúl. The 62nd minute was passing when Rodrigo de Paul sent a pumped ball into the heart of the area, where his teammate appeared to control at mid-height and immediately hit a volley; thus, Saul sent his shot to the square.

The carousel of changes made by Arrasate barely had any effect and the rojiblanco team sealed the game 3-0 on minute 83, thanks to the Argentine Correa, who had replaced the injured Morata. Taking advantage of the visitors’ unbalanced defense, De Paul filtered a low pass with the aim of his compatriot sneaking between the center-backs.

And there Correa defined swiftly and like angels, beating the rival goalkeeper with a dry shot that secured the victory for an Atlético team full of joy. In this way, the pupils of ‘Cholo’ Simeone put the icing on the cake for the Children’s Weekend, the club’s usual celebration in spring for its youngest fans.

The young fans of Atlético attended a relatively placid match of their own at the Metropolitano, which with this new victory stood at 72 points to continue until the last dates of the calendar in the fight with neighboring Real Madrid for being runner-up in the league.

DATASHEET.

–RESULT: ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 3 – OSASUNA, 0 (1-0, at halftime).

–LINEUPS:

ATHLETIC MADRID: Grbic; Molina, Witsel, Giménez, Hermoso, Saúl; Carrasco (Reguilón, min.85), Koke (Barrios, min.84), De Paul (Kondogbia, min.85); Morata (Correa, min.46) and Griezmann (Carlos Martín, min.90).

OSASUNA: Herrera; Peña (Ibáñez, min.68), Aridane, David García, Manu Sánchez; Nougat (Muñoz, min.75), Oroz, Moncayola; Rubén García (Barja, min.68), Chimy Ávila (Cruz, min.46) and Budimir (Kike García, min.68).

–GOALS:

1-0, min.44: Carrasco.

2-0, min.62: Saúl.

3-0, min.83: Belt.

–REFEREE: González Fuertes (C. Asturiano). He yellow carded Budimir (min.28) and Peña (min.65) in Osasuna.

–STADIUM: Cívitas Metropolitano, 57,012 spectators.