Ten-man Atlético Madrid returned to La Liga action with a first league win in four matches thanks to a 2-0 home victory over Elche, who received two red cards during the 90 minutes.Before kick-off, losing FIFA World Cup finalist Antoine Griezmann and winners Rodrigo de Paul, Nahuel Molina, and Ángel Correa were paraded on the pitch at the Wanda Metropolitano, followed by a minute of silence dedicated to legendary Pele who passed away not long before the match.Atlético Madrid and Elche held a minute’s silence to honor Pelé, and every La Liga game this matchweek will do the same 💚 pic.twitter.com/J7sSgHzQj6— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 29, 2022 Up until 10 minutes before the halftime whistle, those were arguably the most memorable moments of the evening as Atlético struggled to break their opponents down. Yannick Carrasco’s effort was saved by Édgar Badía, while Álvaro Morata and João Félix shot narrowly wide, but it was Elche’s Gonzalo Verdú who gave the hosts their biggest boost when he hauled down Morata just outside the area as the Spaniard bore down on goal. Despite the 34-year-old’s dismissal, Atléti were unable to make their numerical superiority pay prior to the interval, but it seemed it would only be a matter of before they moved ahead against a side which Diego Simeone had previously never lost to as a manager.Defender Mario Hermoso, however, had other ideas, picking up two yellow cards in the space of three second-half minutes to restore parity in numbers with more than a third of the game left. Ultimately, that setback didn’t affect Atlético, who took the lead less than 180 seconds later when Félix headed home Griezmann’s first-time chipped cross.FT: Atlético de Madrid 2-0 Elche@joaofelix70 and @AlvaroMorata hit the target as @atletienglish take all three points on the day… 🔴⚪️#LaLigaTV pic.twitter.com/0KyDWFfyY4— LaLigaTV (@LaLigaTV) December 29, 2022 Félix, who has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish capital in recent weeks, appeared eager to prove a point, and forced Badía to parry his low drive shortly after the opener. Elche were not without threat, and they would have had an equaliser had Pere Milla directed his header on target rather than beyond the post. That squandered opportunity proved pivotal, though, as Atléti doubled their lead almost immediately. While Morata’s fine dribbling work down the left flank was worthy of a goal, he was awfully lucky that his shot was deflected high into the air before dropping just under the bar and over the line.Atletico Madrid were frustrated for almost an hour at the Wanda Metropolitano, before breaking Elche’s resolve to win 2-0.Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata were the scorers for Atleti, who had Hermoso sent off. Elche ended the game with nine men, with Verdu and Quina seeing red. pic.twitter.com/ocvaGR3jfz— Football España (@footballespana_) December 29, 2022 Substitute Domingos Quina was sent off late on for two yellow cards in the space of four minutes as Simeone and Co. move up to third in the La Liga table, albeit having played a game more than third-placed Real Sociedad. Meanwhile, Elche continue to prop up the division and, with no victories and just four points from their first 15 matches, relegation to the second tier looks inevitable.LA LIGA – Matchday 15ThursdayGirona – Rayo Vallecano 2-2 (1-1)/Castellanos 34 pen, Saiz 75 pen – Camello 2, Palazon 62 /Betis – Ath.Bilbao 0-0Atl.Madrid – Elche 2-0 (0-0)/Joao Felix 56, Morata 74/Friday19.00: (2.80) Getafe (2.90) Mallorca (3.00)21.15: (2.40) Cadiz (3.15) Almeria (3.40)21.15: (2.30) Celta (3.25) Sevilla (3.50)23.30: (6.75) Valladolid (4.40) Real Madrid (1.48)Saturday16.00: (1.28) Barcelona (6.00) Espanyol (9.50)18.15: (1.95) Sociedad (3.45) Osasuna (4.40)18.15: (2.00) Villareal (3.50) Valencia (4.10)***odds are subject to change©FlashScore
