This is Sportstar's match blog of the La Liga 2020-21 encounter featuring Atletico Madrid and Real Valladolid on Saturday.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
MATCH REPORT |
Atletico Madrid (86 points from 38 games) wins the 2020-21 La Liga title after defeating Real Valladolid 2-1 today. Meanwhile, Real Madrid (84) finishes second with a 2-1 win over Villarreal. Barcelona and Sevilla end up at third and fourth, respectively. On the other hand, Huesca, Valladolid and Eibar are the teams relegated.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! REAL VALLADOLID 1 - 2 ATLETICO MADRID!!!
90' Three minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the second half! Sergio Guardiola gets a chance and he takes a shot from long. But the attempt doesn't test Jan Oblak as the ball goes out of play.
86' TACTICAL FOULS! Joao Felix, Felipe and Renan Lodi all go into the referee's book in an attempt to waste time for Atletico Madrid. Real Valladolid is desperate to find the equaliser here.
82' FEW MORE SUBSTITUTIONS! Pablo Hervias replaces Saidy Janko in the middle for Real Valladolid, while Marcos Llorente makes way for Geoffrey Kondogbia for Atletico Madrid.
78' WHAT A CHANCE FOR ATLETICO! Luis Suarez sends a dangerous pass towards Yannick Carrasco on the right wing. Carrasco takes a touch and lets one fly. The ball goes over the crossbar.
75' YELLOW CARD! Real Valladolid substitute Michel is booked by the referee for a n extremely silly challenge on his Atletico Madrid counterpart Joao Felix.
72' The second half has totally belonged to Atletico Madrid (86 points). Meanwhile, Real Madrid (81 points) is still trailing Villarreal. Atleti might be crowned the champion of the 2020-21 La Liga season in 20 minutes from now.
69' ANOTHER VALLADOLID BOOKING! Jawad El Yamiq receives a yellow card from the referee for a mistimed challenge. On the other hand, there's another substitution for the home team as well. Jota comes onto the pitch to replace Toni Villa.
66' GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!! ATLETICO MADRID 2 - 1 REAL VALLADOLID!!! LUIS SUAREZ SCORES!!!!!!!!! This was a gift from the substitute Sergio Guardiola, who gave away the ball to Suarez. The Uruguayan striker was one-on-one with Jordi Masip and he gave his side the lead.
63' MULTIPLE SUBSTITUTIONS! Two each for either team. Real Valladolid head coach Sergio Gonzalez decides to bring on Sergio Guardiola and Michel to replace Marcos Andre and Roque Mesa in the middle. Meanwhile, Saul Niguez and Mario Hermoso make way for Joao Felix and Renan Lodi for Atleti.
60' Real Valladolid's Marcos Andre is the first player to be booked in this match. Moments after the clumsy tackle, his team has a great chance to score. Shon Weissman's powerful shot is parried away by Jan Oblak. That was so close!
57' GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!! ATLETICO MADRID 1 - 1 REAL VALLADOLID!!! ANGEL CORREA SCORESSS!!!!! This was a wonderful solo goal. Correa received a pass from Yannick Carrasco just outside the box, dribbled past two opposition players and slotted the ball home with a toe poke.
54' THROW-IN FOR ATLETICO! Kieran Trippier takes this one from the right flank. He goes for a long throw but Fede heads the ball away from danger. It falls to Koke who finds Angel Correa with a pass. But once again, the Real Valladolid defence stays solid at the back.
51' Another corner for Atletico Madrid and another wasted opportunity as Real Valladolid regains possession. Diego Simeone looks like a frustrated man in the visiting team's dugout. He might have to make a few substitutions sooner than later.
48' EARLY FREE-KICK FOR ATLETI! Koke will take this one. He sends a decent cross into the middle but the ball comes back to him. His second delivery falls to Felipe whose header is way off target. Some good early pressure in the second half from Atletico.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
If things stay like this, Atletico Madrid, despite trailing itself against Valladolid, will lift its first La Liga title in seven years but a lot of time left for things to change. Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
In the other title-deciding encounter, things are not going well for home team Real Madrid as it is lagging behind by a goal courtesy of Yeremi Pino's strike for Villarreal in the first-half.
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! REAL VALLADOLID 1 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID!!!
45' One minute of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! Kieran Trippier with a wonderful cross from the right wing for Atletico Madrid. But the ball has been cleared away. Trippier looks to be injured but he's fine to continue.
41' GOOD SAVE FROM OBLAK! Roque Mesa comes up with a wonderful cross from the right flank. His Real Valladolid teammate Shon Weissman connects with a header in the middle. But Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak pulls off a decent save.
37' ANOTHER ATLETI CHANCE! Luis Suarez sprints towards the Valladolid box after receiving the ball in midfield. He tries to release Yannick Carrasco up front with a through-pass but Kiko Olivas comes up with a crucial interception to avert the danger for Valladolid.
33' VERY CLOSE! Atletico Madrid almost found the equaliser. Luis Suarez with a phenomenal shot from just outside the box. The ball goes out for another Ateti corner. But the Real Valladolid defence is alert as the cross from the left is dealt with brilliantly.
30' FREE-KICK FOR VALLADOLID! Lucas Olaza is taking this one. His cross into the box from the right side is cleared away by Felipe. Toni Villa gets to the rebound but he is not able to create a clear-cut chance as Atletico Madrid wins a goal-kick.
27' The visiting team is winning corner after corner here. But every header in the middle is missing the target by quite a bit. Jose Gimenez with the latest attempt. He got away from his marker with ease so he should have at least hit the target.
24' Atletico Madrid has dominated the possessional, passing and attacking stats tonight so far. But it his Real Valladolid that has claimed the lead. Atleti manager Diego Simeone looks extremely animated on the sidelines.
21' CORNER FOR ATLETICO MADRID! Yannick Carrasco is on set-piece duty now. He sends a delightful cross into the box. Felipe gets to the ball and produces a decent header. It hits a Valladolid defender and goes out for another corner, which is cleared away easily.
18' GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! REAL VALLADOLID 1 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID!!! OSCAR PLANO SCORES!!!! The move started from an Atleti corner. The visitor gave away the ball easily as Valladolid mounted yet another counter. Marcos Andre eventually received the ball and sent a brilliant pass forward to Plano, who went one-on-one with Oblak, kept his calm and found the back of the net.
15' OFFSIDE! Angel Correa was a little too eager to get to a pass from Saul Niguez. But the linesman flagged him for offside. A quick counter-attack from Real Valladolid led to a corner at the other end. But the home team isn't able to capitalise on the set-piece.
12' CLOSE! Real Valladolid was finally able to create a goal-scoring opportunity in this game. Toni Villa took the ball forward and he had teammates on either side. However, he decided to have a shot on target himself. Jan Oblak pulled off a straightforward save for Atletico.
9' WHAT A CHANCE FOR ATLETI! Angel Correa receives a good pass at the edge of the box, turns away from a challenge and takes a shot with his left foot. The ball reaches Suarez after being deflected off a Valladolid defender. But Suarez isn't able to find the target either.
6' ATLETICO MADRID COUNTER! Real Valladolid loses the ball cheaply as Yannick Carrasco, the man who assisted Luis Suarez's winner last game, takes the ball forward with pace on the left flank. However, he is unable to create a decent chance with his swinging cross.
3' FREE-KICK FOR ATLETI! Skipper Koke will take this one from midfield. He sends a long ball into edge the box and his teammate Jose Gimenez gets to it. However, the centre-back's headed pass towards the middle is deemed offside. Valladolid regains possession.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
The team lineups are out!
ATLETICO MADRID XI: J Oblak (G), K Trippier, Felipe, J Gimenez, M Hermoso, Y Carrasco, Saul, Koke (C), M Llorente, A Correa, L Suarez.
COACH - Diego Simeone.
REAL VALLADOLID XI: J Masip (G), S Janko, Kiko Olivas, J El Yamiq, L Olaza, O Plano, Fede, R Mesa, Toni Villa, Marcos Andre, S Weissman.
COACH - Sergio Gonzalez.
You can also head on to our Real Madrid vs Villarreal and Barcelona vs Eibar La Liga live blogs through the links provided below.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Atletico Madrid began its La Liga title chase with a sprint before ceding ground and almost losing its balance but it head into the deciding weekend with the finish line in sight, trying to stay ahead of a valiant but exhausted Real Madrid.
After a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Osasuna last Sunday, when Real was top of the table for 19 minutes, Atletico head to Real Valladolid on Saturday knowing a victory will ensure it lift its first league trophy in seven years.
But any slip up could be leapt upon by city rivals Real, who is two points behind and has a better head-to-head record than Atletico, meaning it will win the title if it beat Villarreal and its neighbours fail to win.
RELATED |
Atletico's game at Valladolid will be anything but easy, with its opponents needing a win to stand a chance of avoiding relegation. Villarreal may seem like tougher opponents on paper for Real but it is set to rest many players in preparation for the Europa League final with Manchester United.
Atletico know the feeling of having a trophy swiped from its hands by Real all too well, after losing the 2014 Champions League final following a 93rd-minute Sergio Ramos equaliser and losing the 2016 final to its more illustrious neighbours on penalties.
History has looked like repeating itself on numerous occasions this season.
Powered by the goalscoring form of Luis Suarez, Atletico won 16 of its first 19 matches to take a 10 point lead over Real at the end of January with a game in hand.
But it began to wobble in February, when it conceded a last-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 at home to Celta Vigo before drawing and then losing to Levante.
ALSO READ |
It was on course for a significant win over Real in the derby before an 88th-minute Karim Benzema equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw.
Defeats by Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao in April allowed Barcelona and Real to trim Atletico's advantage to two points, while Sevilla briefly turned the contest into a four-way race.
Real and Barca then both squandered chances to go top and Atletico, with the help of two late penalty misses from opponents plus Suarez's late winner against Osasuna, have weathered the storm.
Real also deserve huge credit for taking the race to the wire despite suffering more than 60 injuries throughout the season.
"It has been a very long season, it's been very tough, but we were lucky enough to make an excellent start," Atletico president Enrique Cerezo told radio station Cadena Ser .
"We then had a slump but we're in form again and hopefully we'll have some more luck and win at Valladolid."
Comments
SHARE