Atletico Madrid succumbed to their fourth La Liga defeat in a row after another heartless performance at Granada. Despite taking the lead after less than two minutes played, it wasn’t enough for El Cholo’s side to turn their fortunes and get a long-overdue win. In the end, it was goals from Darwin Machis and Jorge Molina that gave Granada the win, but they were helped a lot by some abysmal Atletico finishing and their unrecognizably soft defence.Atlético’s last four La Liga games:2-1 loss vs. Mallorca2-0 loss vs. Real Madrid2-1 loss vs. Sevilla2-1 loss vs. GranadaCurrently in fifth and 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid 😐 pic.twitter.com/PTtRyjb7Vj— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 22, 2021 Joao Felix was once dubbed the new Cristiano Ronaldo, and Atletico fans have been waiting for years to see why. There have been a few glimpses of incredible talent here and there and another in Granada. With just over a minute on the clock, the former Benfica youngster went on a marauding run through the hosts’ defence and applied the finish that made it 1-0 to Atleti.A few years ago, taking the lead would almost certainly mean a win for Diego Simeone’s team. But this isn’t a few years ago.The red and whites of Granada hung in there and managed to find an equalizer in quite a spectacular manner. Venezuela international Darwin Machis unleashed a thunderbolt from some way out and stunned Jan Oblak, who could not get to the ball despite diving to his left. Just a quarter of an hour after going in front – Atletico have surrendered their lead.That boy Felix had the ball in the back of Maximiliano Luis’ net, but it was rightly chalked off for offside. Atleti’s wonderboy Felix wouldn’t give up, though. He was certain that he put his team back in front on the hour mark, but his shot cannoned off the post and out, much to the disgust of Simeone.Why always you? Because you’re the only one to celebrate a goal by kicking your teammate in the headIt’s not looking like a season to remember for the reigning La Liga champions – especially after Jorge Molina nipped in front of Oblak to poke the ball into the net and make it 2-1 to Granada. Atleti were hopeful that VAR would deny Molina the goal, but, as we said, this isn’t their season. The goal stood.As expected, there was a 30-minute siege of Granada’s goal, but the brave hosts remained cold-blooded and defended well. They’ve had a bit of luck on several occasions, but they also provided a few scares on the counter-attack.Matheus Cunha was gifted a glorious chance to level in the dying minutes after a rebound fell nicely for him, but the Brazilian inexplicably fired wide of the target and Granada were left off the hook.The final whistle brought huge celebrations for the Granada players and fans at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes – and quite a few questions about the future of Diego Simeone and his misfiring champions.LA LIGA – ROUND 18TuesdayVillareal – Alaves 5-2 (2-1)/Moreno 18, 88, Dia 27, 76, Pino 79 – Pons 44, Joselu 65/Sevilla – Barcelona 1-1 (1-1)/Gomez 32 – Araujo 45/WednesdayGranada – Atletico Madrid 2-1 (1-1)/Machis 17, Molina 61 – Felix 2/23.30: (3.30) Ath.Bilbao (3.35) Real Madrid (2.35)***odds are subject to change
