Atletico Madrid vs. Las Palmas: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Atletico Madrid started their domestic campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over newly promoted Las Palmas on Saturday at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
Antoine Griezmann scored the game's only goal in the 16th minute with a free-kick that deflected off the wall and wrong-footed Palmas goalkeeper Raul Lizoain. The visitors came close to scoring on multiple set pieces in the second half, and Koke hit the post with a late free-kick for Atletico.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Antoine Griezmann
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Atletico Madrid have maintained a brilliant legacy of quality strikers in recent years. The names—Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao, just to name a few—read like a roll call of some of the world's top strikers.
It's far too early to put Antoine Griezmann in that category, but the French forward will be hoping this season represents his turn to shine in the Spanish capital. To that end, he'll be happy to start the campaign with a goal, albeit a deflected strike off a free-kick.
As MisterChip noted on Twitter, it was Griezmann's 63rd goal in La Liga but the first to come directly from a free-kick.
More goals will surely follow, and this will hardly be his best of the season, but Griezmann will be delighted to have opened his Liga scoring account at the first opportunity.
Loser: Atletico's Set-Piece Defending
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Atletico should be pleased to have won the match and taken the full three points, but coach Diego Simeone will be concerned with his side's defending on set pieces.
Las Palmas created multiple chances in the second half, and all the opportunities seemed to come on dead-ball situations.
The visitors probably had their best opening in the 58th minute, when Jonathan Viera curled in a free-kick from the left. Defender David Simon had made a late, curling run to the back post and found himself completely unmarked as the ball fell. It was a glorious chance, but Simon hit the woodwork with his header.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak had to scramble to clear his line in the 72nd minute after the home side couldn't clear a corner. Las Palmas' Aythami Artiles rose highest to meet another corner in the 83rd minute, but he could only head over the bar.
Greater challenges wait in store for Atletico, starting with next weekend's trip to Sevilla. Simeone and his players need to work on the way they defend set pieces; otherwise, they're bound to be punished at some point.
Moral Winner: Las Palmas
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Las Palmas finished fourth in the Segunda Division last season and earned promotion to the top flight via the playoffs. The reward for Paco Herrera's side was a trip on the first day of the new season to Atletico Madrid, who won the title in 2013-14 and finished third last term.
Few would have expected the Canary Islands club to hold its own against such powerful opposition, but that's exactly what Las Palmas did at the Calderon. The visitors were fearless with the ball and created plenty of positive moments on which they can build a solid campaign.
But a moral victory like Saturday's will only go so far. This is Las Palmas' first season back in the top flight since 2001-02, and if they want to stay around, they'll have to figure out a way to collect a few victories of the genuine variety.
Winner: Filipe Luis
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Atletico's squad is full of new names this season, but one of the team's star performers on Saturday was an old friend who's back for a second tour of duty.
Brazilian left-back Filipe Luis rejoined Atletico in the summer following a brief one-season spell with Chelsea. Luis made just 15 appearances in the Premier League and failed to unseat Cesar Azpilicueta as the Blues' preferred left-back.
No matter. Back in the Spanish capital, he's right at home.
Playing the full 90 minutes, Luis took several good touches on the left flank and frequently joined in the attack to dangerous effect. In the 78th minute, the Brazilian weaved through traffic in the box before forcing a good save with a rasping shot from a tight angle. All in all, it was a strong second debut.
Atletico missed Luis last season, and there's no doubt Diego Simeone is happy to have him back.
Loser: Fernando Torres
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Fernando Torres came into the match as a second-half substitute and earned a booking for simulation in the 84th minute.
The yellow card might have been harsh, as columnist Sid Lowe suggested on Twitter: "He might have exaggerated it a bit but he was tugged, or at least it look is that way."
Perhaps the referee penalized Torres because he had a perception about the player as a diver. Or maybe Torres fell too theatrically in the box.
Regardless, it was not an ideal way to start the season for a striker who has been a legend for Atletico.
