Atlético Madrid extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to five games and moved themselves into third position in the standings, as they cruised to a 3-0 win at home to RCD Mallorca on Matchday 21.
Alexander Sørloth set the hosts on their way halfway through the first half, netting his third goal in as many league games, before a David López own goal and late Thiago Almada strike secured the three points for Diego Simeone’s side.
Following a 1-1 stalemate at Galatasaray on the seventh matchday of the Champions League in midweek, Atlético showed little signs of fatigue in the early stages. Atléti had not failed to score in their previous nine matches in all competitions, and started with similar intent here, drawing visiting stopper Leo Román into a sharp triple save to deny Sørloth, Giuliano Simeone and Pablo Barrios inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Atlético were not to be kept at bay for long, however, and Sørloth reacted quickly to fire home his seventh league goal of the season in the 22nd minute, after Román had parried a fierce Marcos Llorente strike into the Norwegian’s path.
After the interval, Simeone’s men grew increasingly frustrated that their dominance was not being reflected on the scoreline. Barrios, in particular, was lively, but the Spanish midfielder once again saw an attempt saved by Román inside the opening five minutes of the second half, before he whipped an effort from outside the box wide of the post shortly after the hour mark.
Mallorca’s away record this season makes for grim reading, with Jagoba Arrasate’s team picking up only one win and five points from their ten league matches on their travels before this afternoon. They did, however, have reasons for optimism, having recorded their first league victory since December 13th last time out in a 3-2 triumph over Athletic Bilbao. Vedat Muriqi, who bagged a hat-trick in that fixture, was inches away from getting on the scoresheet again in the 73rd minute, as he diverted a looping cross just the wrong side of the upright.
However, a generally lacklustre Mallorca frontline failed to regularly create such opportunities and test home goalkeeper Jan Oblak, managing only one shot on target during the ninety minutes. The visitors’ desire for an equaliser also left themselves increasingly exposed in defence, and they were to be punished in unfortunate fashion. Only a minute after Muriqi’s near miss, neat interplay between Marc Pubill and Llorente down the Atlético right resulted in the latter swinging a low cross into the box, and an attempted Mateu Morey clearance was diverted into the Mallorca net via the face of López.
Almada rounded off a dominant display for the hosts three minutes from time, thumping a right-footed effort into the top corner after Mallorca had failed to clear an Atlético corner.
Yet another success for Simeone’s men, who boast the most impressive home record of any side in Spain’s top division, moves them ahead of Villarreal into third in the league standings, following The Yellow Submarine’s 2-0 defeat to Atléti’s city rivals Real last night.
The Red and Whites now turn their attention to European competition, and the final Champions League matchday of the season, as they welcome Bodo-Glimt to the Metropolitano on Wednesday night. Atlético currently sit in 12th place in the league phase standings, but are level on points with PSG in 6th, and a win against the Norwegians would give them every chance of securing a spot in the top-eight and automatic qualification into the round-of-16.
Mallorca, meanwhile, remain on the brink of the relegation zone, having accumulated 21 points from as many games so far this season, and could have dropped into the bottom three by the time they face Sevilla in a must-win clash at the Son Moix next Monday.
Match Officials: Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez; Video Assistant Referee: Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez; Assistant Referee 1: Raúl Cabañero Martínez; Assistant Referee 2: Juan José López Mir; Fourth Official: Néstor Holgueras Castellanos; Assistant VAR Official: Pablo González Fuertes
Atlético Madrid Lineup: Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Giménez, Hancko; Simeone (subbed for Koke, 79’), Barrios, Cardoso (subbed for Le Normand, 73’), Baena (subbed for González, 59’); Álvarez, Sørloth (subbed for Almada, 72’)
RCD Mallorca Lineup: Román; Maffeo (subbed for Morey, 74’), López, Valjent, Mojica; Sánchez (subbed for Asano, 63’), Samú Costa (subbed for Llabrés, 88’), Mascarell, Darder (subbed for Torre, 74’); Joseph (subbed for Virgili, 63’), Muriqi