Atletico Madrid ride their luck to claim crucial victory at Osasuna
Having won 11 successive games on home turf, transferring that form onto the road was the primary aim for Atlético Madrid. However, they started slowly with Chimy Ávila forcing Jan Oblak into some early action, before Lucas Torró flashed an effort inches wide of the post from distance.
Yet, Osasuna were made to rue those missed opportunities midway through the first half when Atlético conjured up something out of nothing, as Antoine Griezmann squeezed home the opener from the narrowest of angles.
Not to be outdone, Johan Mojica was keen to try his luck from a similarly tight angle as he fought to get Osasuna back on level terms, but while Griezmann’s effort squirmed in at the near post, Mojica’s crashed back off the upright. In Mojica’s defence, the angle was so acute it was always unlikely his effort would nestle the back of the net, but his teammate Ávila was afforded a golden chance after the break.
Jesús Areso did the heavy lifting in the build-up, cutting the ball back to the onrushing Ávila, who couldn’t quite sort his feet out and his effort drifted harmlessly wide.
The second half saw one-way traffic throughout, with wave after wave of Osasuna attack being repelled by some resolute Atlético defending coupled with some Oblak heroics, as he was again on hand to keep his side ahead, this time denying Lucas Torró front point-blanks range.
You sensed Diego Simeone’s side were running out of lives, and they used another one 15 minutes from time when David García’s strike was ruled out for a foul on Axel Witsel whilst powering home a header.
Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate was unsurprisingly incandescent after the incident, and after he was dismissed for his protestations, he was left feeling even more aggrieved moments later when Rodrigo Riquelme rounded Aitor Fernández and slotted into an empty net.
The result was almost overshadowed in the dying moments thanks to a nasty Ávila stamp on Morata, earning him a straight red card and prompting Morata to react, which yielded a second yellow for the Atleti man - the only blotch on a near-perfect evening for Simeone’s side.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Samuel Lino (Atlético Madrid)