Atletico Madrid earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory over mid-table Osasuna on Saturday, on an evening in which Joao Felix starred for Los Rojiblancos.
Diego Simeone’s men set the tempo from the off on Saturday evening, taking the game to the visitors with some direct and dangerous attacking play. Felix was a constant thorn in the side of Osasuna, his lightning pace and tricky footwork causing plenty of problems in the opening exchanges.
The 20-year-old then forced a smart save from goalkeeper Sergio Herrera, who stretched out a long leg to deflect away the low-driven effort. Thomas Partey almost broke the first-half deadlock with a long-range pile-driver, but Herrera was up to the task once more, as he continued to frustrate the hosts.
Saul Niguez then missed a simple chance from close range and the hosts rattled the crossbar from a well-worked set-piece routine, but the two sides were level when the half-time whistle sounded. The visitors did provide some attacking intent on occasion, but they were easily second best as Atleti continued to pile on the pressure in the second half.
Los Rojiblancos finally broke the deadlock in typical fashion for a Simeone side, when Alvaro Morata powered home a fierce header from an inch-perfect Kieran Tripper delivery. The opening goal inspired Atleti to play with more freedom and go for the kill, and the introduction of Angel Correa swung the momentum in the hosts’ favour.
The result was finally put beyond doubt when Saul rounded off a superb passing move by dinking a smart finish over the onrushing goalkeeper to seal the three points. Atleti had plenty of chances to add to their lead, but their efforts were saved by Herrera, or they missed the target altogether.
Morata did hit the net again late on, but his cool finish was ruled out for offside. Regardless, Simeone’s men lifted themselves back into the top four – and within six points of top-of-the-table Barcelona.