Atlético returned to the League with a controversial victory at the Metropolitano over Alavés on the day that Simeone turned 700 games on the red and white bench. Luis García Plaza’s team took the lead very early on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty committed by Javi Galán and converted by Jon Guridi. Atlético tied in the second half thanks to a penalty that outraged Alavés and culminated the comeback with a goal from Sorloth in the final minutes.
Simeone started without Julián Álvarez or Sorloth, with Griezmann and Correa up front. They had to move the team between Koke and Pablo Barrios. It only took Alavés six minutes to score on a Carlos Vicente cross that tripped on Galán’s outstretched arm. Guridi’s goal from eleven meters unnerved Atlético, who in the entire first half could not find a way to break the dense Alava defense. He lacked finesse in the game and gunpowder up top.
The first part
Little game and fewer opportunities
Atlético dominated the ball at will and it was hardly enough to create scoring chances. The best of the first half came in the 19th minute on a ball fought by Correa and a shot by Samuel Lino that was slightly touched by Sivera and went to the crossbar.
From then on to the break there was not much more from Atlético except for a couple of long shots by Marcos Llorente well neutralized by Sivera. Atlético started the second half with two changes: Giuliano Simeone and Sorloth came on for Galán and Llorente. Correa immediately left, very missing, and Julián Álvarez entered. Then, it was the turn of Rodrigo de Paul for Lino and Riquelme for Koke.
The changes took time to benefit Atlético, but after the first quarter of an hour the Atlético dominance intensified. The first clear chance came in a ride by Giuliano Simeone that closed with a shot that Sivera kicked out for a corner.
The controversy
Griezmann tied from a penalty
In the 73rd minute came the controversial play of the game, a cross from De Paul to Sorloth, who jumped in the area with the center back Abqar. Sorloth headed, the ball hit the arm of the Moroccan center back and García Verdura signaled a penalty. The referee did not want to go to the VAR monitor. The Alavés players understood that Abqar had been unbalanced in the jump. Luis García Plaza’s protests cost him the yellow card. Griezmann took the penalty and made the score 1-1.
The tie unsettled Alavés and made Atlético bigger. In the 86th minute, a great pass from De Paul to Sorloth helped the Norwegian make it 2-1 and put an end to the game.
#Comeback #controversy #Atlético
