Atletico Madrid Makes a Strong Comeback in the La Liga Title Race
Atletico Madrid has made a strong comeback to the La Liga title race after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Sevilla on matchday 16. The win extended the capital club’s unbeaten streak and solidified their hold on third place in the standings.
French forward Antoine Griezmann was the star of the match, scoring the decisive goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time after already netting Atletico’s second goal in the 62nd minute. Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul (10) and Brazilian substitute Samuel Lino (80) also found the net for Atletico. Sevilla’s goals came from Dodi Lukebakio (12), Isaac Romero (32), and Juanlu Sanchez (57).
Atletico, now with five consecutive league wins and nine in all competitions—including two UEFA Champions League victories over Paris Saint-Germain (2-1) and Sparta Prague (6-0)—have amassed 35 points, maintaining their position just behind league leaders Barcelona (38) and second-place Real Madrid (36).
Atletico opened the scoring early through De Paul, who fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box after Lukebakio lost possession (10). However, Lukebakio quickly redeemed himself, scoring a right-footed shot from a corner kick that Atletico’s Slovenian goalkeeper and captain, Jan Oblak, failed to save (12). Lukebakio now has seven goals in the league this season.
Sevilla took the lead with Romero’s first La Liga goal, as he muscled past Atletico’s Uruguayan defender José María Giménez and slotted the ball past Oblak with his left foot (32). Sevilla extended their lead to 3-1 through Juanlu Sanchez (57), but Griezmann pulled one back for Atletico (62). Lino, a substitute, equalized with a powerful shot from 20 meters into the left corner of the net (79).
The match ended with Griezmann’s second goal, as he controlled the ball with his back to the goal inside the box, turned, and fired a left-footed shot into the net, assisted by the crossbar (90+4).
Meanwhile, the Basque clubs Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad continued their winning streaks. Athletic Bilbao defeated Villarreal 2-0, while Real Sociedad triumphed 3-0 over Leganés.
Bilbao extended their winning streak to four consecutive league victories, including a valuable 2-1 win over reigning champions Real Madrid in the previous round. They now have five wins in all competitions, thanks to goals from Aitor Paredes (15) and Iñaki Williams (69).
Bilbao, who last dropped points with a 1-1 draw against Valladolid in round 13, now have 32 points and sit in fourth place.
Athletic Bilbao is also performing well in the UEFA Europa League, where they will face Fenerbahçe in the sixth round of the competition on Wednesday. They remain unbeaten and are tied for second place in their group with Lazio, each having 13 points from four wins and one draw.
Real Sociedad also continued their strong run, defeating Leganés 3-0 with goals from Brais Méndez (14), substitute Ander Barrenetxea (78), and Mikel Oyarzabal (90+2).
This marked their second consecutive league win, after a 2-0 victory over Real Betis in the previous round, and their fourth consecutive win in all competitions, dating back to their only defeat of the season to Athletic Bilbao (1-0) in round 14.
Real Sociedad now sits in sixth place with 24 points, tied with Osasuna, who drew 2-2 with Alavés. Sociedad is preparing for their upcoming European match on Thursday, where they will face Dynamo Kyiv, who currently sit at the bottom of their Europa League group.
The matchday will conclude on Monday with a clash between Getafe and Espanyol.
