September 29, (THEWILL) – Atletico Madrid continued their strong start to the La Liga season by claiming a hard-fought 1-0 victory away at Osasuna on Thursday night. The win comes on the back of Atletico’s excellent derby triumph over rivals Real Madrid last Sunday.
The first half proved an even contest between the sides, with both having chances to open the scoring. However, it was Atletico who struck first in the 20th minute, with rejuvenated forward, Antoine Griezmann, finishing tightly from inside the box after the ball fortuitously broke to him.
Osasuna dominated the second period as they searched for an equaliser. They thought they had drawn level when David Garcia headed home from a corner, only for the goal to be ruled out due to a foul. Osasuna manager, Jagoba Arrasate, argued himself into a sending-off.
Minutes later, Atletico punished them again, with Samuel Lino breaking clear to set up Rodrigo Riquelme to make it 2-0. There was late drama as Ezequiel Avila and Alvaro Morata both received red cards after an altercation. Avila appeared to stamp on Morata, who reacted and was shown a second yellow.
The victory saw Atletico rise to fifth in the table with a game in hand, while Osasuna dropped to 14th after the defeat. They are both back in action on Sunday, with Osasuna away to Deportivo Alaves and Atletico at home to Cadiz.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
