Madrid, Spain.
He Elche this Wednesday fueled their chances of achieving permanence by beating 3-2 against Atlético de Madrid, who accused the numerous absences with which the match faced and the numerical inferiority for more than an hour after Almada’s expulsion.
The Elche team, which maintains its excellent streak at home, knew how to overcome an early goal by Atlético and the tie, when it had everything in its favor, to wait patiently for its moment in the second half, in which a goal from André da Silva dictated the sentence.
Eder Sarabia’s team, as was in the script, monopolized the ball in the first minutes against an Atlético full of substitutes after the lost Copa del Rey final and without clear references in attack beyond a dislocated Álex Baena.
After a first threat to Rafa Mir, The Madrid team struck forcefully after a brilliant action by Nico González. The Argentine stole the ball on the edge of his area and, after crossing half of the field, combined with Mendoza, who with his heel left him the perfect ball to beat Dituro.
The team from Elche suffered the impact of the goal and took several minutes to get back on track with the match, although they finally found the tie through Affengruber, who picked up a loose ball in the Atlético area to beat Oblak on his return to ownership.
The tie restored Elche’s peace of mind and possession of the ball, although Atlético always showed threat capacity thanks to the mobility of its attacking midfielders.
After half an hour one of the actions of the game arrived. Affengruber stole the ball from Almada on the edge of the Atlético area and the Argentine grabbed him continuously in an action that cost him expulsion and a clear penalty against his team.
Da Silva did not hesitate to put Elche ahead, which, however, did not know how to manage its income. After the center kick, Nico González, again in an individual action, gained the baseline and, after making a hat to Dituro, finished on goal.
The goal, initially disallowed by the assistant referee when he considered that the ball had left the field, was validated minutes later by the VAR to the despair of the local fans. The tie, due to the form and the moment, hurt Elche who, despite the numerical superiority, could only put Madrid’s goal in danger again with a high shot from Germán Valera.
After the break, Simeone reinforced his defense with Pubill and Molina against the presumed siege of Elche, who monopolized possession of the ball against an opponent sunk on the limits of their area.
Elche moved the ball patiently from side to side waiting to find a space or a cross for Mir, but Atlético’s defense remained firm and barely gave up any space. The entry of Giuliano, Barrios and Griezmann, half an hour from the end, increased the threat power of Atlético who, in a huge survival exercise, managed to keep Elche under control despite the numerical inferiority.
The team from Elche never stopped trying and ended up finding the prize with a quarter of an hour left, with a goal from André da Silva who beat Oblak from inside the area after an assist from Affengruber.
Elche, with everything in its favor, had the option of avoiding suffering in the last minutes in a couple of actions that Álvaro Rodríguez, with everything in its favor, failed to complete. Atlético, despite the circumstances, did not give up and almost equalized with a poisoned shot from Griezmann which Dituro cleared with reflexes.
Elche vs Atlético de Madrid technical sheet
3 – Elche: Dituro; Sangaré (Chust, min. 60), Affengruber, Pétrot (Bigas, min. 82), Germán Valera; Tete Morente (Josan, min. 66), Febas, Gonzalo Villar, Martim Neto (Cepeda, min. 66); Rafa Mir (Álvaro Rodríguez, min. 66) and André da Silva.
2.- Atlético de Madrid: Oblak; Boñar, Le Normand (Pubill, min. 46), Lenglet, Julio Díaz (Molina, min. 46); Johnny, Obed Vargas (Giuliano Simeone, min. 61), Mendoza (Barrios, min. 61), Nico González, Almada and Álex Baena (Griezmann, min. 61).
Goals: 0-1, min. 10: Nico González. 1-1, min. 18: Affengruber. 2-1, min. 32: Da Silva, penalty. 2-2, min. 33: Nico González. 3-2, min. 75: André da Silva.
Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández (Balearic Committee). He showed a yellow card to Sangaré and Febas for Elche and to Lenglet and Julio Díaz for Atlético de Madrid. He showed a direct red card to Almada in the 30th minute.
Incidents: Match corresponding to matchday 32 of LaLiga EA Sports played at the Martínez Valero stadium in front of 27,587 spectators.
