Atletico Madrid’s defeat to Las Palmas on Friday night ended a win of six wins in a row in La Liga, and it also means that they can be re-overtaken by Barcelona if they were to defeat Real Sociedad on Saturday.
It was a tough evening for Atletico, who fell behind on 51 minutes to a Kirian Rodriguez strike, before substitute Benito would double the hosts’ lead with a quarter of an hour remaining. Alvaro Morata scored late on, but it wasn’t enough for Los Colchoneros to avoid defeat.
Between Las Palmas’ first and second goals, Atletico head coach Diego Simeone made the questionable decision to take off both Antoine Griezmann and Koke Resurreccion, a decision that bemused many spectators. However, when speaking after the match (via Diario AS), the Argentine believes that it was vindicated.
“I understood that there were teammates who could make a better impression on the game, and I think at some point they did.”
Griezmann in particular has been in stunning form over the last few weeks, and had he played the full 90, Atletico Madrid could have stolen a point against Las Palmas. However, no one will know whether that would have been the case.
