Atletico Madrid poor form continues as winless Almeria claim draw against Simeone's men
Atlético came into the game in poor form, having won just one of their last five competitive matches (D1, L3). But despite that, Diego Simeone’s side made a strong start in this encounter, taking the lead inside two minutes.
The goal came after Reinildo made a surging run down the left before his low cross found Ángel Correa in the centre of the box, and the Argentine fired a first-time volley beyond Luís Maximiano.
Despite falling behind early on, Almería weren’t discouraged and managed to bring themselves level after a fantastic goal from Milan loanee Luka Romero, after the Argentinian winger unleashed a vicious left-footed strike from the edge of the area that found its way beyond Jan Oblak and into the bottom-left corner.
Los Rojiblancos almost managed to put themselves back ahead shortly after, when Samuel Lino worked some space on the edge of the box before firing towards the bottom-right corner, but Maximiano made a fantastic save to keep Almería level.
The start of the second half was slow with neither side testing the opposition goalkeeper, but that changed after 57 minutes, when Rodrigo De Paul charged towards goal with the ball before his deflected shot nestled in the bottom left corner to give Atlético the lead again and the midfielder his first goal of the season.
That lead didn’t last long though, as Romero scored his second goal of the game after a brilliant one-two with Jonathan Viera, before firing a sublime shot past Oblak at the near post with the outside of his left foot.
Álvaro Morata had the opportunity to steal all three points for the visitors in the dying moments but the forward was only able to fire his shot over the bar from close range. The game ended in a draw meaning that Atlético could fall out of the La Liga top four tomorrow, should Athletic Club win by three goals or more.
Meanwhile, Almería remain winless this season and rooted to the bottom of the table with just nine points, 11 adrift of safety. However, Gaizka Garitano’s side will have a renewed sense of hope after going unbeaten in three consecutive games for the first time this season (D3).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luka Romero (Almería)
