News
SUN 06.03.2016
Griezmann's deadly touch
Valencia began on the front foot at Mestalla and the hosts could have even opened the scoring but Jan Oblak was on hand to deny Guilherme Siqueira with a fine save. From then on it was a case of what might have been for Los Che. Luciano Vietto won the ball off Javi Fuego in the Valencia CF half before feeding Antoine Griezmann and the Frenchman made no mistake, tucking home from the edge of the area to give his side the lead. It was the striker's first sniff at goal and he once again proved just how lethal he is in and around the opposition's box.
On-song Cheryshev
It wasn't long before the hosts produced a reaction, willed on by the vociferous home faithful, Valencia rallied and the equaliser came following some excellent link-up play between Paco Alcacer and Denis Cheryshev. The Spanish international striker put the Russian through on goal with a perfect cushioned header and Cheryshev did the rest to net his third goal in his last four Liga BBVA outings.
Alves to the rescue
The game was a real end-to-end affair with chances falling to both sides, although the second half saw Diego Simeone's men stamp their authority as they went in search of a second. During this spell, Diego Alves came to the fore in the Valencia goal. The Brazilian shotstopper showed great authority to stifle the visitors' attacks and he produced a sublime save to deny Vietto and prevent his side from falling behind.
Coaches look to their benches
The game was played at a great tempo and both Simeone and Gary Neville started to look to their benches to try to swing the game in their favour. Simeone shuffled his pack by replacing Matias Kranevitter with Fernando Torres and it proved to be a master stroke from the Argentinean coach. Only nine minutes after entering the fray, the Spain international was on hand to stab home from a Koke corner at the back post.
Valencia crumble after the sending-off
The goal saw Atletico take control and their dominance became even greater after the sending-off of Aderlan Santos just minutes later. With Valencia down to ten men, the visitors dominated possession and prevented the hosts from finding a way back into the game. Neville's men folded after Atletico's third, which also came from another substitute, Yannick Carrasco, who netted after having cut in from the right. This win sees Atletico close the gap on FC Barcelona to eight points with ten matchdays to go. As for Valencia, they missed out on an excellent opportunity to make up some ground on the European places.
© LALIGA - 2016