La Liga 2023-24: Atletico Madrid ends season with 2-0 win over Real Sociedad

Atletico, who had already secured fourth place and a spot in next season’s Champions League, finished the season on 76 points, 11 ahead Athletic Bilbao in fifth.

FILE PHOTO: Atletico Madrid finished the season on 76 points. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Atletico Madrid ended its La Liga campaign with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday thanks to a first-half strike by Brazilian winger Samuel Lino and a Reinildo Mandava tap-in in stoppage time.

Atletico, who had already secured fourth place and a spot in next season’s Champions League, finished the season on 76 points, 11 ahead Athletic Bilbao in fifth.

Sixth-placed Real Sociedad has qualified for the Europa League.

Runaway champion Real Madrid is top of the standings with 94 points, 12 points ahead of second-placed Barcelona and 13 clear of Girona in third.

Atletico took the lead in the ninth minute after Marcos Llorente burst up the right wing and delivered a low cross to Lino at the far post, who netted with a tidy finish past Alex Remiro.

Remiro and Atletico’s keeper Jan Oblak made several saves and Atletico was reduced to 10 men after Saul Niguez was shown a second yellow card in the 92nd minute.

In the last move of the match, Atletico secured the three points on a counterattack led by Alvaro Morata, who delivered a perfectly placed cross for substitute Reinildo to tap into the empty net.

Win is a big boost

Samuel Lino said that finishing the season with a good win at Real Sociedad should be a boost for Atletico Madrid going forward. “We were good, focused, played a good game and that’s what we wanted. Overall, we were not within the club’s objectives, but we finished well and now we have to switch off and a win away from home could help to come back strong next season,” Lino said.

“It was an important victory to finish the season well,” Lino added.