Atlético de Madrid thrashes Betis in the penultimate round of Laliga
A brace from La Araña and a goal from Angelito (the former wants to leave his mark, the latter leaves one behind) to seal Atlético’s podium against a Betis side that is thinking too much about the final.
Correa received from Julián because he had to receive from Julián, the undisputed star of the season’s finale at the Metropolitano. The rest was Angelito’s doing, getting rid of Adrián on the run and certifying what, given everything seen afterward, points to his last goal for the red and white , which in any case was the last goal of the season in a stadium that came down to pay homage to the number 10, just in case. Otherwise, it was a very eventful match, which serves to confirm Atlético’s place on the league podium… and Betis’s waiting for the final. That’s no small feat, in both cases.
The scoreline looked like it would be the best piece of news for the Verdiblancos in the first half, barely a minimal deficit when they could have already taken a sack, but lo and behold, a home side corner led to a second chance for Lino, who then converted it and Le Normand finished it off. It makes sense that the Frenchman’s first goal for the Atlético Madrid was scored with that header that, unfortunately for him, has ultimately defined his time at Atlético.
First, medical attention in the stands forced the match to be stopped. Then, Natan had a tremendous scare with that Conferencia final right around the corner. Finally, the legendary hydration break, forgotten for so many months. If it was a question of aligning it with the rest of the matchday, the match at the Metropolitano had been a bit wonky. But before, during, and after, the match was what was happening while Sorloth missed chances . The Norwegian missed as many goals in the first half against Betis as he scored in the first half against Real Sociedad: four. Surely his coach would appreciate some balance in that regard.
He ran into Adrián twice, once when he had plenty of time to think. He ran into his own inexperience once, taking a left-footed shot in a one-on-one. He finally ran into the offside trap just as he’d already scored. He was number 9 on one of those days. Another one of those days, to be more precise. Julián also hit the post, as it happens, but in his case, there are mitigating factors : first, that he had cooked up and eaten an excellent play alone against the world; second, that a good while earlier he had already scored a goal of excellence.
Altimira committed a foul on De Paul that seemed too far away to be hit… but the Spider was already weaving a web from the kick-off point to the top corner. Whatever the future holds for the Red and Whites will have to hold for the Argentine striker, as it has for so many years with Ángel, lest while the best arrive, the best continue to be left out. And Betis? Well, that’s where it was, more focused on the match in Wroclaw than anything else. Pellegrini had rotated too much, or so it seemed , even though the Betis squad is one of the deepest in the division.
In fact, in the final stretch of that first half, Oblak had earned the upper hand, successively against Bakambu, Lo Celso, and Perraud, none spectacular but all disturbing. All of that was just before Le Normand’s goal, but it turned out that Villarreal were losing in Barcelona at halftime, which opened a temporary door to the Heliopolitan Champions League. So Don Manuel went all out: Isco, Antony, and Cucho, to the pitch. The latter immediately gave warning. But that decisive stretch would suffer a much longer interruption than the previous ones, again by an unwelcome fan , from which a veritable scramble erupted in which Fornals was on target first, but then Julián (with Grizi’s participation, first with a one-two, then with an assist), and, above all, Correa. The crowd mourns for a man who made himself loved…
