Beginning their La Liga season with a thrilling match, Atletico Madrid, led by Diego Simeone, settled for a 2-2 draw against Villarreal on Monday.
After finishing fourth last season, Atletico made significant changes to their squad in the summer transfer window. Despite twice falling behind, they managed to secure a point at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica.
Departures of key players like Alvaro Morata, Stefan Savic, and Memphis Depay were offset by the arrivals of new signings Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth, and Robin Le Normand, who all made their debuts in this match.
Norwegian striker Sorloth, one of the debutants, scored the crucial goal that helped Atletico salvage a draw.
Simeone reflected on the match, saying, “I think we played a good game. We had some individual areas to improve, but as a team, we showed commitment.”
Villarreal took the lead through Arnaut Danjuma in the 18th minute. The forward, starting in the La Liga opener after loan spells at Tottenham and Everton, outran Axel Witsel to score a low shot into the corner of the net.
Atletico quickly equalized with a goal from Marcos Llorente, courtesy of an assist by Antoine Griezmann, just a minute later.
Despite hitting the post through Samuel Lino, Atletico fell behind again when Koke inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net after Jan Oblak failed to claim a cross.
The first half ended with Sorloth scoring against his former club, nodding in a goal in stoppage time. Villarreal’s goalkeeper should have done better to keep the shot out.
In the second half, Atletico’s record signing, Alvarez, debuted in the closing stages in a closely contested match.
Villarreal’s new signing, Nicolas Pepe, came close to scoring with a late free-kick that hit the crossbar, but ultimately, both teams had to settle for a draw.
Reflecting on the performance, Atletico’s Llorente mentioned, “We conceded too quickly and easily, making it an uphill battle. Equalizing was tough, but conceding another goal made it even harder to turn the game in our favor, which we failed to do today,” Llorente shared with Movistar.
AFP