Atletico Madrid secured a 2-0 win against Mallorca on Saturday, putting pressure on Real Madrid ahead of their match against Espanyol later that day. The victory moves Atletico within a point of the league leaders, setting the stage for a thrilling derby clash next weekend.
Samuel Lino opened the scoring in the 26th minute after a brilliant driving run from Giuliano Simeone, the son of Atletico’s head coach, Diego Simeone. Antoine Griezmann, who began the match on the bench, sealed the win with a stunning lobbed finish in stoppage time, much to the delight of the Metropolitano stadium.
Atletico dominated the first half, with Julian Alvarez impressing and Alexander Sorloth coming close before Lino’s goal. In the second half, Mallorca, who are in seventh place, created some chances, with Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak denying Sergi Darder’s free-kick with a save off the crossbar, and Dani Rodriguez firing over. Rodrigo Riquelme also hit the crossbar with a late free-kick as Atletico pushed for a second, which Griezmann eventually delivered.
Lino, who has not been a regular starter this season, expressed his satisfaction with his performance, telling DAZN: “I’ve been working hard, things weren’t going that well, but now it’s coming off and I’m grateful to the fans for the support.”
Barcelona, in third place, will host Alaves on Sunday as they look to keep pace with the top two.
