Last Sunday I went back to the Metropolitano. It was Atlético Madrid hosting RCD Mallorca in front of their home fans on game day 21 of La Liga. While Atleti might still be quietly dreaming of the title, things are going far less smoothly for the visitors. They are sitting in the relegation zone and desperately need every point they can get. Knowing that the home side had not lost a single match at home yet, the outlook wasn’t promising. Last season ended 2–0, and in the first round of this season both teams had to settle for a 1–1 draw. A notable absentee was Antoine Griezmann, who is dealing with a minor muscle injury. Even though he is no longer in the heyday of his career, it is still great to see him playing football.
Kick-off was at 14:00. There was some wind and it was about 6 degrees outside, Madrid has certainly seen better weather. And because Sunday is a day of rest, you could sense that in the match. Both teams started without much intensity. After about fifteen minutes came the first real threat: Alexander Sørloth was sent deep and aimed for the far corner with his left foot, but the goalkeeper was alert. He also calmly handled the two rebounds that followed. A first big warning for the visitors from the island.
Moments later, the breakthrough finally came. After a throw-in, the ball found its way to Marcos Llorente, who struck well; Sørloth only had to head in the rebound. A deserved lead for the home team. Since the visitors didn’t create a single chance in the first half, both sides went to the dressing room with the smallest possible margin: 1–0 for Los Rojiblancos.
While the Pirates from Mallorca had plenty to make up for in the second half and it was hard to imagine them doing worse than in the first 45 minutes, they didn’t manage it. On the contrary, Atlético dominated the remainder of the match. Vedat Muriqi, second in the goalscoring charts of La Liga, headed a ball narrowly wide in the 73rd minute. Hope for Mallorca, perhaps? Only briefly. Atlético soon extended their lead thanks to an incredibly clumsy own goal, straight out of a comedy film. After a nice combination on the right, Llorente crossed the ball into the box; it didn’t reach any of his teammates but instead found the newly-substituted Mateu Morey. The right-back tried to clear the ball but kicked it against the head of his teammate David López, who unintentionally headed it into his own net. With that, all hope of stealing an undeserved point vanished for the visitors.
And it didn’t stop there. With only minutes left, the supporters were treated to the finest goal of the afternoon. Argentine world champion Thiago Almada curled in a beautiful shot into the top corner after a slick solo run inside the box, making it 3–0. With that beauty, the Argentinian scored his third in La Liga so far this season. With that score, the ship from Mallorca was not allowed to disembark in the Spanish capital and Diego Simeone’s troops once again kept a clean sheet in La Liga.
With this victory, Atlético extend their home winning streak to thirteen matches. They remain in pursuit of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, though you’d have to be very optimistic to truly believe in title chances at this point. They remain unbeaten at home in the league. Los Rojiblancos will host the Vikings of FK Bodø/Glimt on Wednesday for the final group-stage match of the UEFA Champions League. Mallorca, meanwhile, have a long road ahead if they want to secure another year in the top flight.
