Antoine Griezmann fired home a goal in each half to seal Atlético Madrid’s spot in the knock-out stages; however Diego Simeone would be disappointed not to have won by a greater margin.
Simeone knew before the match started his side had a great chance to leap over current Group C leaders Benfica and that would have motivated his side to take advantage as the Portuguese giants struggled to overcome a resilient Astana away from home.
Galatasaray interim boss Claudio Taffarel would have also been eager to see his side secure a vital three points as a win would level his side with Atléti on seven points ahead of the home side’s tough encounter with Benfica. And it was the away side that nearly got to the perfect start with Wesley Sneijder having an exceptional opportunity to put the visitors ahead, however his close range effort was wide, much to Jan Oblak’s delight.
The miss would turn out to be costly as Antoine Griezmann continued his fine goal scoring form against the Turkish champions and scored from a header following Gabi’s pinpoint cross. Griezmann was eager to add to his tally moments after with a speculative volley yet Fernando Muslera comfortably denied the Frenchman.
The pressure would continue from the home side as they looked to seal victory early with a handful of chances however the finishing was lacking from Atléti.
The second half continued with Atléti threatening and Gala struggling in dealing with crosses as soon after the break Jesús Gámez delivered an inviting cross that fell perfectly for Koke to tuck it into the back of the net but was smartly saved by Muslera.
Simeone’s men would continue to spurn chances with Koke giving Fernando Torres an opportunity to end his recent scoreless run but fired high and wide. The away side continued to be unable to cope with Atléti’s midfield as time and time again they opened up Gala’s defence and created chances for the strikers.
Finally in the 64th minute, Griezmann would get his second of the night and fourth overall in the two ties against Gala to seal the victory for Atléti. Again Gabi would be the provider, assisting the Frenchman with a low cross that was poked home. However, the goal did come with controversy as it appeared Griezmann was in an offside position.
Luciano Vietto, who replaced Griezmann had a great chance to make it 3-0 after Torres played in a wonderful through ball, however the young Argentinean fired directly into Muslera. Muslera would continue to making fine saves following strikes from Tiago, Torres and Koke however a poor performance from his team mates would see out a 2-0 defeat.
The win sees Atléti move to the top of Group C leveled on points with Benfica following their upcoming fixture in determining first place, while the loss leaves Gala fighting for third place and a spot in the Europa League.
Atléti looking stronger and stronger
After a rocky start to beginning of the season, Simeone’s side is looking stronger with each game that goes past. With a defeat against Benfica and draw to Astana previously, securing first place, let alone progressing through to the next round looked like a tough battle for Atléti.
Yet after game five it doesn’t look to be that way, with instead Simeone’s men taking the lead over group leaders Benfica ahead of the last remaining fixture in the group stage and beginning to look like potential silent contenders for this season’s Champions League with performances such as tonight.
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