Atletico Madrid showcased their resilience and attacking prowess in a thrilling La Liga match on Sunday, overcoming an early deficit to defeat Leganes 3-1 at the Metropolitano Stadium. The victory marked a crucial turnaround for Atletico, who had endured a lackluster run in their previous three matches across all competitions.
The match started with Leganes taking the lead in the 34th minute. Yvan Neyou, the Cameroonian midfielder, unleashed a stunning strike from distance that flew into the top corner, silencing the home crowd. The Metropolitano, partially closed as punishment for incidents during their previous home game against Real Madrid, witnessed a tense first half as Atletico struggled to find their rhythm despite dominating possession.
Despite several half-chances falling to Rodrigo Riquelme, Angel Correa, and Alexander Sorloth, Atletico were unable to convert their early dominance into goals. Leganes, meanwhile, had a couple of golden opportunities to extend their lead in the second half. However, they missed their chances, including a glaring miss by Correa who somehow failed to find the back of the net from close range.
The second half saw Diego Simeone make five substitutions, injecting fresh energy and urgency into Atletico’s attack. The substitutions paid dividends as Sorloth finally broke the deadlock in the 69th minute with a cheeky back-heel finish from an Axel Witsel cross. Just 11 minutes later, Antoine Griezmann added a second goal with a clever chip over the Leganes goalkeeper.
Atletico continued to push forward, and Rodrigo de Paul came close to scoring the third goal in the 77th minute, only to see his shot deflected just over the bar by a Leganes defender. But it was Sorloth who sealed the victory in the dying moments of the match, capitalizing on a rebound deep in added time to secure his brace.
Following the match, Witsel expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, particularly highlighting their second-half resurgence. He stated, “It was a very important win for us, I think we played a good game. In the first half, we lacked intensity with the ball in the final meters. They hadn’t created any danger except for the goal. In the second half, we fought, we put in more pace, and we managed to come back.”
With the win, Atletico climbed to third place in the La Liga standings, just four points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, who remain in second and first place respectively. However, Barcelona has a game in hand and will face Sevilla later on Sunday. Atletico will now turn their attention to the Champions League, facing Lille on Wednesday, aiming to continue their winning momentum.