Atlético Madrid took away a victory from the gates of hell on Monday evening. Diego Simeone’s team seemed to have to settle for a point at Girona after a huge miss by Memphis Depay, but his replacement Álvaro Morata still brought in the victory in stoppage time of the second half: 0-1. Atlético takes third place in LaLiga more firmly, while Girona is twelfth.
The biggest chance that Atlético created before the break came in the 23rd minute. Antoine Griezmann had complete freedom on the left and gave a measured cross to Memphis. The latter put in a falling volley and looked set to score, but fired over. Still in the first half, Memphis got another chance, when the ball with fortune remained at his feet. The the Dutch international shot over quite wildly.
Ah, Memphis pic.twitter.com/aaOPh4zP4Z
— Football animal (@Footballanimal98) March 13, 2023
After an hour of play, Simeone made a triple substitution, with Memphis having to give up his spot to Morata. The chances were for Girona after the break. Jan Oblak was back in his goal just in time to deflect a brutal effort from David Lopez’s halfway line. The keeper of Atlético also reacted alertly when Rodrigo Riquelme did not take the ball properly in a promising position.
In injury time, Atlético still struck. Ángel Correa tapped through a corner kick at the first post, after which Morata tapped in from very close range at the second. The arbitration initially rejected the late goal of the substitute striker, but after minutes of deliberation the VAR concluded that there was no offside: a valid goal, 1-0.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 25 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 65 |
| 2 | RealMadrid | 25 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 56 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 48 |
| 4 | real society | 25 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | RealBetis | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 38 |
| 7 | Rayo Vallecano | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 35 |
| 8 | Osasuna | 25 | 9 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 34 |
| 9 | Athletic Club | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 33 |
| 10 | Real Majorca | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | -4 | 32 |
| 11 | Celta de Vigo | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | -5 | 31 |
| 12 | Girona | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | -1 | 30 |
| 13 | Seville | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | -11 | 28 |
| 14 | Real Valladolid | 25 | 8 | 4 | 13 | -16 | 28 |
| 15 | Espanyol | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | -8 | 27 |
| 16 | Cadiz | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | -17 | 27 |
| 17 | valencia | 25 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
| 18 | Getafe | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | -9 | 26 |
| 19 | Almeria | 25 | 7 | 4 | 14 | -15 | 25 |
| 20 | Elche | 25 | 2 | 7 | 16 | -30 | 13 |