Memphis Depay crowns starting position with a goal and almost scores a world-class goal

Atlético Madrid has done excellent business in LaLiga. Coach Diego Simeone's team won 2-0 against Valencia in their own Cívitas Metropolitano. Samuel Lino, who played for Valencia last season, and Memphis Depay scored the goals. Thanks to the victory, Atlético is equal in points with FC Barcelona (44). Girona and Real Madrid have eleven and ten more points respectively, so a place in the top three currently seems the highest achievable for los Colchoneros.

Memphis was allowed to start on the Atlético side. The Dutch international came on against Sevilla in midweek in the Copa del Rey and scored the only goal of the match. Memphis formed a striker pair with Antoine Griezmann, which meant that Álvaro Morata had to settle for a place on the bench. Arthur Vermeeren, who came over from Royal Antwerp, was on the bench for the Madrid team for the first time. A substitute appearance, and therefore his debut, was not yet possible for the Belgian.

After a rather timid opening phase, Atlético started knocking on the door more and more. The game increasingly took place around Valencia's sixteen. After excellent combination play between Memphis and Griezmann, the latter finished disappointingly. Atlético continued to increase the pressure and that gave Griezmann another excellent opportunity. This time the Frenchman shot at Giorgi Mamardashvili from a fairly sharp angle.

Valencia survived the Madrid storm and must have secretly thought about taking a lead after Stefan Savic seemed to make hands. Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea went to the VAR screen and, to the relief of Metropolitano, concluded that it was not a penalty.

Deep into injury time in the first half, Atlético still scored. A wonderful pass from Griezmann was appreciated by Lino, who let the ball bounce once and then shot it convincingly: 1-0.

Atlético pressed on after the break and went looking for the liberating second goal. Savic headed in well from a corner, but saw Mamardashvili make the save. Moments later it happened again. A beautiful deep pass from Koke ended up at Nahuel Molina on the right side of the field. After a good first assumption, the Argentine gave it to Memphis, who made it 2-0 with a falling header.

Memphis was close to a fantastic goal in the next phase. He hit the ball over his direct opponent with a heel kick and then delivered a devastating blow. The attacker just saw his effort end up on the roof of the goal. After an alleged foul by José Gayà, Atlético also received a penalty, but De Burgos Bengoetxea reversed his decision. This did not have major consequences for Atlético, which no longer had to fear victory for a moment.

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