Impressive Villarreal Stun Atletico Madrid in Tough La Liga clash

Impressive Villarreal Stun Atletico Madrid in Tough La Liga clash

Isaac Darko
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:09 PM
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  • Villarreal traveled to Madrid to record a 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano in Matchday 2
  • Smart finishes from Yeremi Pino and Gerard Moreno gave Unai Emery's men a hard-fought away victory against the Rojiblancos
  • Diego Simeone's side have slipped to their first La Liga defeat of the 2022/23 season as Villarreal move to the top of the league table

Atletico Madrid suffered their first defeat in the 2022/23 La Liga as Villarreal recorded a 2-0 win in Madrid on Sunday.

The Rojiblancos failed to cope with their visitors' intensity throughout the game and they got punished on hot night in the Spanish capital.

Yeremy Pino and Gerard Moreno scored in the second half to secure the vital victory as the Yellow Submarines moved to the top of the Spanish La Liga table.

Villarreal, Atleico Madrid, La Liga
Villarreal defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday. Credit: footballespana
Source: AFP

Villarreal started the game on a bright note as they threaten Atletico with Giovani Lo Celso and Yeremi Pino both denied by Jan Oblak in a flurry of attacking intent from the Yellow Submarine.

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Teenage winger Pino instead put Villarreal in front just a minute later, capitalising on a poor clearance to drill a fine low shot into the bottom corner.

Atletico did force their way into the contest in the second period but Villarreal continued to carry the greater threat with a breakthrough eventually secured in the final 15 minutes.

Atletico's Nahuel Molina was sent off deep into injury-time and Moreno netted in the 97th minute to send Villarreal top.

Atletico Madrid Unwilling to Pay €40 Million Transfer Fee for Barcelona Attacker Antoine Griezmann

Sports Brief earlier reported that Atletico Madrid find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Antoine Griezmann.

The French forward is on loan at the club, but there were conditions to the loan which could come back to haunt Madrid now.

As reported by Goal at the time, Griezmann returned to Atletico on a two-year loan deal with a mandatory €40 million option to buy included in the deal.

The deal states that the Rojiblancos will have to purchase the player for €40 million if he features in 50% of their games, with a minimum of 45 minutes between the games, across the two seasons at Atletico.

Authors
Isaac Darko photo
Isaac Darko
Isaac Darko is a La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga editor at Sports Brief with a Degree in Journalism and Communications from Ghana Institute of Journalism (2010)
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