Atlético continues on the good streak that began by winning the Metropolitano derby and against Real Sociedad this afternoon they achieved their fourth consecutive victory in the League, which allows them to settle into the Champions League positions. The victory came in the 89th minute thanks to a controversial penalty by Carlos Fernández that Griezmann converted.
The match was very entertaining because Imanol Alguacil's team is not one to give up and from the first moment they sought victory. Furthermore, La Real was in the best moment of the season after its victory (0-2) in the Champions League in Salzburg (it had four wins in a row and three clean sheets) and, in fact, it came out like a shot and scored against the 20 seconds into an own goal by Mario Hermoso that was disallowed due to offside by Barrenetxea.
Atlético had several casualties, but Simeone's eleven was as expected, with Morata and Griezmann up front and a midfield with Llorente, Koke and De Paul, plus two full-backs very willing to move up, Nahuel Molina and Samuel Lino.
After a frenetic first few minutes, Atlético managed to put some pause in the game and scored in the 22nd after a great pass from Koke behind Traoré that left Samuel Lino in front of Remiro, who he beat with his left foot with a shot placed at the first stick, the Brazilian's first goal as a colchonero.
The goal did not change the fate of the match, which continued very back and forth, but Atlético had much more danger in their offensive actions. Griezmann had the second in his boots and sent the ball over the crossbar. The clearest chance before the break came from De Paul with a shot against the post in the 43rd minute. On Real's part, Kubo asked for a penalty, but neither the referee nor the VAR granted it.
The second half began almost as the first had ended, with a shot against the Colchoneros' post, this time from Witsel after a free kick. The reply came at 64 in an excellent reverse by Oyarzábal that ended in a shot that beat Oblak and also went to the post.
Algualcil went all out and made a triple substitution to refresh his team. Le Normand, Mikel Merino and Take Kubo left and Carlos Fernández, Pacheco and Zakhayan entered.
La Real was going for the tie and owned the game. The VAR intervened again and Munuera Montero went to the monitor to check for possible hands by Morata in his area after a header from Brais, but the play came to nothing. Two minutes later, in the 74th minute, the tying goal came from a long pass from Carlos Fernández that caught the Colchonera defense out of position and great control from Oyarzábal, who finished perfectly against Oblak.
Atlético now changed, with Saúl, Roquelme, Savic and Galán on the field, but Real had come out on top with the tie and were unleashed. The visitors' goal seemed closer but, nevertheless, in the midst of a San Sebastian storm, a counterattack came in the 85th minute and a penalty by the hands of Carlos Fernández, who was on the ground with his back turned. The decision was heavily protested by Real but the referee did not change his decision. Griezmann launched it, deceiving Remiro, and made the score 2-1. Atlético is on a roll and everything works out for them.
