Atletico Madrid 2-0 Osasuna Battle

 Atletico Madrid 2-0 Osasuna Battle

Atletico Madrid's French forward #07 Antoine Griezmann (R) celebrates scoring the opening goal next to Atletico Madrid's Spanish forward #19 Alvaro Morata during the Spanish Liga football(Image-Getty)

In a LaLiga clash marred by intense emotions, Atletico Madrid secured a 2-0 victory over Osasuna, courtesy of goals from Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme. This thrilling match saw both teams reduced to ten men by the final whistle.

Atletico, currently holding a game in hand, ascended to the fifth spot in the LaLiga standings, accumulating 13 points, which places them six points adrift of the surprising leaders, Girona. Real Madrid closely trails behind in second place with 18 points, narrowly ahead of reigning champions Barcelona by a single point.

Osasuna commenced the match with vigor, energized by their fervent supporters in a packed El Sadar Stadium. They nearly opened the scoring early on when Lucas Torro unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area, narrowly missing the target.

However, Atletico swiftly retaliated in the subsequent play. Antoine Griezmann exhibited remarkable alertness as he capitalized on a rebound, exploiting Osasuna goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez's inability to secure Samuel Lino's cross. Griezmann delivered a precise close-range shot, finding the back of the net.

Osasuna persisted as the dominant force and came perilously close to equalizing in the 37th minute when left winger Johan Mojica eluded two defenders and struck a thunderous shot that ricocheted off the post.

The hosts continued to create scoring opportunities, with Atletico's custodian, Jan Oblak, producing a remarkable save to thwart a point-blank attempt from Torro in the 66th minute.

Tempers flared as tensions escalated, culminating in Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate receiving a red card for disputing the referee's decision to disallow David Garcia's goal in the 75th minute.

Atletico capitalized on a swift counter-attack orchestrated by fullback Samuel Lino. The Brazilian delivered a sublime through pass to substitute Rodrigo Riquelme, who skillfully outwitted the onrushing goalkeeper Fernandez and calmly slotted the ball into an unguarded net.

Just four minutes later, the match took another dramatic turn as Atletico's Alvaro Morata and Osasuna's Chimy Avila were both dismissed following a heated altercation.

Reflecting on the challenging encounter, Atletico manager Diego Simeone shared his thoughts with DAZN, saying, "Every time we play here is a complex situation... It feels like the game will never end. We ended up winning more comfortably than we probably should thanks to a counter-attack, but I don't think the score reflects what really happened. It was an important and tough win, and we need some rest."