Mallorca push toothless Atletico away from the top

Mallorca’s first La Liga win since February came after Vedat Muriqi’s penalty to beat lackluster Atlético Madrid. The Pirates deservedly beat the defending champions 1-0 thus completing a surprise league double over Los Colchoneros.Mallorca were on their seven-game league losing streak and it looked pretty unlikely that they would end it with a win over in-form visitors Atlético. With these three points – the Pirates managed to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.Trashing Chelsea in the UCL is fine, but what about Getafe on a rainy Saturday night in MadridAtlético dominated the ball from the off with chances, unlike their trip to the Etihad on Tuesday. Marcos Llorente and Yannick Carrasco tried early on but were not accurate enough. In their last five La Liga games, Atletico scored 12 goals and it was quite surprising to see them so unsure in front of their opponent’s goal. Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez were struggling to link up and create chances while the midfield lacked the vision to send a decisive pass inside the box.Having awarded 13 free-kicks by the halftime break, referee Juan Martínez Munuera was undoubtedly the busiest man on the pitch.Atleti to recruit another red and white soldier – for freeClearly unimpressed by what he saw in the first half, Diego Simeone introduced Thomas Lemar and Matheus Cunha during the break but it was the hosts who went closest shortly after the restart. Brian Oliván’s superb long-range volley had Jan Oblak scrambling across his goal line to tip his effort smartly around the post.It became clear, as the game progressed, that the hosts’ greatest threat was from set pieces. Just after the hour mark, Muriqi went closest for Mallorca – getting on the end of a Dani Rodríguez free-kick and heading just wide.In the 68th minute, Reinildo Mandava brought down Pablo Maffeo just inside the Atlético Madrid penalty area and changed the course of the match. After a lengthy VAR check, Munuera pointed to the spot, Muriqi stepped up and blast his penalty into the top corner for a deserved 1-0 lead.After conceding Atletico woke up but ultimately couldn’t find a way past the hosts’ resilient defence despite sending men forward and applying pressure to Mallorca in the final third. Atlético remain fourth with this loss, one point ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis while Mallorca record their first league win in eight games which sends them out of the relegation zone into 17th.LA LIGA – ROUND 31FridaySevilla – Granada 4-2 (1-1)/Diego Carlos 32, Ocampos 66, Mir 90+3, Papu Gomez 90+9 – Machis 23, Diaz 88/SaturdayCadiz – Betis 1-2 (0-0)/Alejo 58 – Tello 78, Iglesias 85 pen/Mallorca – Atl.Madrid 1-0 (0-0)/Muriqi 68 pen/19:30: (2.40) Villareal (3.30) Ath.Bilbao (3.25)22:00: (1.43) Real Madrid (4.60) Getafe (9.00)Sunday15:00: (2.00) Osasuna (3.40) Alaves (4.30)17:15: (2.95) Espanyol (3.10) Celta (2.75)19:30: (4.00) Elche (3.35) Sociedad (2.10)22:00: (7.75) Levante (4.80) Barcelona (1.45)Monday22:00: (2.40) Rayo Vallecano (3.20) Valencia (3.35)***odds are subject to change***

Powered by Live Score & Live Score App