With Girona safe and Atletico locked into that all-too-familiar third position, this was expected to be a sedate affair compared to yesterday’s battles for European spots and LaLiga survival. However, the opening half proved reasonably energetic, even if the final execution was lacking.
The best chances of the first 45 undoubtedly fell to Julian Alvarez, who was twice thwarted in his attempt to find the bottom-left corner by decent saves from Vladyslav Krapyvtsov. The latter was an ambitious free kick from the edge of the box.
Overall, Atletico had the lion’s share of the chances during the first half, but the Blanquivermells held firm against a side aiming to defy their status as the worst travellers amongst the top five in terms of points-per-game.
Visiting manager Diego Simeone's frustrations duly boiled over in first-half stoppage time, and he went into the referee’s notebook for dissent when complaining about a lack of justice against Yangel Herrera after his apparent manhandling of Rodrigo De Paul.
Something more innovative would be needed from the Argentine manager if he was to make it a seventh win in nine H2Hs vs Michel (D1, L1). He resisted any urge to turn to his bench during half-time though, and the usual pattern resumed, with a combination of crossbar and goalkeeper denying Antoine Griezmann from the tightest of angles before Samuel Lino saw a shot put over by Daley Blind – much to the relief of Krapyvtsov, who had been left helpless by the deflection.
Finally, Simeone turned to his bench for inspiration on the hour mark, bringing on his youngest footballing son Giuliano, alongside Sorloth. With the added incentive of overtaking teammate Alvarez as the club’s top scorer for 2024/25, Sorloth took just six minutes to break the deadlock.
A sequence of neat passes culminated in Alvarez finding De Paul, who played a ball for Sorloth across the face of goal, allowing the Norwegian to pick his spot and net his 18th league goal of the campaign.
Already assured of posting their lowest La Liga finish since returning to the top flight three years ago, Girona posted a feeble response. A close-range finish for Clement Lenglet from Krapyvtsov’s fumble and two more for Sorloth sealed a one-sided victory for Simeone’s men.
They’ll fancy their chances of starting the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup assertively, while Girona’s attentions turn to a much sooner event as a mere point for Sevilla – who play Villarreal this afternoon – will see the Blanquivermells finish as the ‘worst of the rest’.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid)
Check out all the match stats here.
