Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Atletico Madrid moved to within two points of the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Antoine Griezmann scored a superb solo goal early on to give his team the lead at the break, and Atleti rarely looked like being hauled back by a tame La Real. Indeed, the game was fairly pedestrian, with the hosts unable to conjure much in attack in the second half.
All hell broke loose in the final minutes, as Diego Reyes was sent off, Jonathas had a penalty claim ignored and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco scored on the counter to wrap up the win.
Jonathas was then sent off as well for his protestations.
Here are all our winners and losers from one of the weekend's key games in Spain's top flight.
Winner: Antoine Griezmann
1 of 5
Playing against his old side, Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann was superb in the first 45 minutes, comfortably the best player on the field in terms of all round ability.
His goal came early on and out of nothing: He received possession on the halfway line and simply blitzed through La Real's defence, leaving three for dead with his pace before finishing with a composed chip over Geronimo Rulli.
Griezmann worked hard defensively in the left channel and was a good outlet for the team as they sat back and soaked up the little pressure Real Sociedad offered, with his general buildup play also good when Atleti attempted to get a bit of support forward.
He was afforded a big ovation by both sets of supporters when he was substituted late on.
Loser: David Moyes
2 of 5
The boos and whistles at half-time told David Moyes all he needed to know—his time was getting shorter and the poor performance by his side at home to Atletico was not close to enough.
Real Sociedad's manager set his team up to do the same as usual: sit back, try and frustrate the opposition and then play wide and try to cross, again and again, as a method of attack. Against Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez, needless to say, it didn't work.
The ineffective Carlos Vela was left in place, and forward Jonathas wasn't brought into the game until there were just seven minutes left to play. Eight league matches played and one win. La Real and Moyes are in trouble.
Winner: Koke
3 of 5
Koke's return after injury was a big boost for Atletico Madrid, and his performance showed exactly why he remains so important to them.
Early on he was able to break into the left channel to combine with Griezmann and Jackson Martinez, even getting into the penalty box a couple of times and almost scoring a header in the first few minutes of the game.
His quick passing, good control and movement off the ball made Atleti's forward play a lot more incisive, yet after the break, when the away side sat back, Koke was one of the most reliable workers, broke up La Real's attacks well and helped ensure the clean sheet.
Loser: Jackson Martinez
4 of 5
Given another chance to start in La Liga and hoping for a better performance this time around, Jackson Martinez will once more be disappointed with what he offered the side, as his touch continued to be lacking, he didn't get inside the penalty box to threaten the goal and was subbed off shortly after half-time.
Jackson is struggling to fit into Atleti's way of playing, not just in terms of holding up the ball and looking to lay it off, which is a technical fault he's having at present, but in that Diego Simeone's team don't play forward quickly enough to him to allow the striker to run at the back line and shoot from range or cross from wide consistently to allow him to attack aerially.
Fernando Torres, once he came on, had a far greater impact as an outlet for Atletico.
Winner: Jose Gimenez
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Atleti's centre-backs were always likely to have a field day against Moyes' Real Sociedad; continually crossing the ball into the box, toward one aerially proficient striker, simply wasn't going to trouble Uruguayan pair Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.
The younger of the two was extremely impressive. He was booked early on for a lunging tackle but spot on with his timings and his decision-making thereafter.
Gimenez made a late attempt to head the ball clear inside his own box that saw Jonathas fall over him, start the penalty appeal and the whole ensuing crazy finish to the game. However, he got the decision from the referee and thus played another big part in the win, as his team ran off to score the second.
