Valencia vs. Atletico Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Atletico Madrid made it five away wins from six in La Liga on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over coach Gary Neville's Valencia at Mestalla.
Antoine Griezmann fired the visitors ahead in the first half, but Valencia winger Denis Cheryshev immediately drew the hosts level with a left-footed effort of his own, with both sides looking fairly well-matched for an hour of play.
But poor marking at a corner allowed Fernando Torres to steal in at the back post and give Los Colchoneros the lead. Aderlan Santos was then sent off, and Atletico took full advantage, with substitute Yannick Carrasco hammering in a third to make sure.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid
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Antoine Griezmann’s rough patch lasted just shy of one month, and now he’s back firing on all cylinders. February may have been a struggle for the Atletico Madrid No. 7, but he has now scored in three consecutive games.
He put in a very good performance on Sunday, opening the scoring with a lovely edge-of-the-box strike, linking with Luciano Vietto superbly and troubling Valencia’s ailing back line.
The Frenchman continually dropped deep to pick up possession and then drive toward goal, pulling players out of position and forcing free-kicks. He was also awarded an assist for Yannick Carrasco’s late goal.
Loser: Luciano Vietto, Atletico Madrid
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From one perspective, it’s arguable Luciano Vietto played well on Sunday evening, linking play quite well and combining with Antoine Griezmann to great effect. As a between-the-lines, on-the-turn forward, he serves a purpose.
But from a harsher perspective, he perhaps didn’t do what was required of him: score goals. He missed every chance he was given—and he was given a fair few!—and only saw one truly trouble goalkeeper Diego Alves, forcing him to palm a firm strike onto the bar.
This is classic Vietto; he’s done this all season. His finishing is off, but his link play kind of, sort of makes up for it—depending on which side of the fence you sit.
Manager Diego Simeone has tried to coax him into form like he did Jackson Martinez, but when your replacement comes on and scores with his first chance, you’ve got to worry just a little.
Winner: Denis Cheryshev, Valencia
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Denis Cheryshev was withdrawn after approximately one hour, but don’t let that cloud your judgement of his performance: It was a good hour.
His low, left-footed strike hauled Valencia back on level terms after Antoine Griezmann had given the visitors the lead minutes earlier, and his taking up of excellent shooting positions became the theme for his night’s work.
He tested goalkeeper Jan Oblak with two more stinging strikes, forcing good saves, and was likely withdrawn with an eye on the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Loser: Aderlan Santos, Valencia
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Valencia's back line is rarely—if ever—the same game to game. Constant suspensions and injury issues force changes on a far-too-regular basis.
Aderlan Santos' clumsy red card against Atletico Madrid was very much in keeping with his style and body of work so far this season. He flashes talent and can be effective for stretches of games, but often he can't help but make a big error at some point during any 90-minute spell.
His two yellow cards were a little foolish and naive—the second especially so—and early on he managed to trip himself over on the ball in his own box, nearly teeing up Antoine Griezmann for an easy finish.
With Aymen Abdennour ready to pounce, Santos may just have lost his spot in the XI.
Winner: Fernando Torres, Atletico Madrid
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Fernando Torres marked his 300th appearance for Atletico Madrid in typical fashion, netting the goal that gave his side the lead and a clear path to victory.
He entered the fray at the expense of the aforementioned, disappointing Luciano Vietto and took less than 10 minutes to make the difference, stealing in at the back post and converting a looping corner.
He also drew the foul from Aderlan Santos that got the Brazilian red-carded and generally put himself about well, running the channels and troubling the channels.
If Torres gets the nod ahead of Vietto in Atletico's next game, no one will be under any illusions as to why.
