Atletico Madrid travelled south to Andalusia to face Cadiz on Sunday at the Ramon de Carranza in a La Liga clash that carried a whole lot of weight.
Real Madrid losing to Levante yesterday meant that Los Colchoneros had the opportunity to go ten points clear of their nearest challengers with a victory, and they didn’t disappoint. A Luis Suarez brace was pivotal in securing a 4-2 victory.
“We knew how difficult Cadiz would be at their place,” Suarez said post-game in comments carried by Marca. “They look for a lot of crosses from the wings, with a high-quality player like Negredo in the middle. We tried to quell these situations, but it was difficult.”
Suarez was straightforward when asked about his recent goalscoring run and the stunning free-kick he scored to take the lead initially for Atletico. “When a striker is on a roll you have to take advantage of opportunities like that,” he said. “I try to help the team as much as I can and enjoy these moments.
“Being at Barcelona for a long time, it was Leo who took [free-kicks]. But I scored them for Liverpool and with the national team. Now I’m taking advantage of these opportunities. We just practiced them the other day.”
He certainly started well. Suarez has been flying since the moment he rocked up in Madrid after being coarsely discarded by Barcelona, and he scored his 13th goal of the season in the 28th minute to put himself top of the Pichichi race and Atletico in front.
Atlético Madrid have 50 points from 19 La Liga games. On course for a 100-point season. Only ever been done twice before (Real Madrid 2012, Barcelona 2013). Atléti have never won more than 90 points in a season before.
— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) January 31, 2021
Cadiz equalised in the 35th minute through another veteran marksman in Alvaro Negredo, before a 44th minute strike from Saul Niguez restored Atletico’s lead going into half-time.
Five minutes after the second-half restarted, Suarez was at it again, this time converting a penalty kick to give Los Rojiblancos a two-goal cushion.
Negredo scored his and Cadiz’ second 21 minutes later to reduce the gap between the two teams to just one goal, but Diego Simeone’s men didn’t falter and added their fourth thanks to the inimitable Koke in the 88th minute.
