Atletico currently sit second in La Liga and came into this game in a good run of form as they are unbeaten in 17 games in the league (10 wins, 7 draws). This run stretches back to September. Getafe were also on a good streak after avoiding defeat in their previous five games in all competitions (4 wins, 1 Draws) including a win over Valencia in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, in their last match.
Line-ups
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2)
Starting XI: Jan Oblak- Santiago Arias, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez, Lucas Hernandez, Thomas Lemar, Thomas Partey, Rodrigo, Saul Niguez, Antoine Griezmann, Nikola Kalinic
Substitutes: Borja Garces, Toni Moya, Joaquin Munoz, Victor Mollejo, Juanfran, Francisco Montero,
Getafe (4-4-2):
Starting XI: David Soria, Bruno Gonzales, Damian Suarez, Leondro Cabrera, Djene Dakoman, Mauro Arambari, Nemanja Maksimovic, Victorino Antunes, Francisco Portillo, Angel Rodriguez, Jorge Molina
Substitutes: Mathieu Flamini, Hugo Duro, Leandro Chichizola, Sebastian Cristoforo, Jaime Mata, Samu Saiz, Ignasi Miquel
Atletico Madrid Analysis
Diego Simeone made two changes to the team that beat Huesca last Saturday as Koke and Correa dropped out of the side to be replaced by Kalinic and Saul.
The rojiblancos started the game brightly, keeping the ball well as they moved upfield and try to get an early goal as they did against Girona.
Thomas Partey did well to keep the ball as he looked up to see the runs of his teammates before slipping it through to Griezmann. The Frenchman seemed to have a lot of space as he got the ball outside the box. He had the chance to take one touch to set himself before hitting his shot low into the bottom corner pas Soria. Griezmann has been involved in six of Atletico’s last eight goals at home in La Liga (four goals and two assists)
Kalinic had the initial attempt after getting on the end of Lucas’ cross and took it first time from point-blank range but Soria made a great save to deny him. Saul got on the end of the rebound though and put the ball into the back of an empty net. 2-0 Atletico.
Thomas Partey’s impact
Solid as rock, he won 10 of his 16 duels. In this game, the number 5 showed how good he can be in the battle for the central areas. He recovered the ball seven times, intercepted five, made 100% of his tackles (2/2 tackles attempted) and won five aerial duels. He even offered to Griezmann an assist on the first goal.
Brilliant in the opposition half, he was involved in the second goal by serving a lovely ball to Lucas Hernandez. Of his 82 accurate passes, he made 52 in the opposition half with a success rate of 84%.
On both occasions, Getafe had 10 players in their own half but they were not aggressive enough to intercept the ball. Even if they were compact in the middle.
Getafe analysis
Jose Bordalas also made two changes to his side after their Copa del Rey victory on Wednesday; Soria replaced Chichizola in goal, and Mata also made way for Molina
This season, Getafe have scored 30 goals in La Liga. Amazingly Jaime, Mata, Angel Rodriguez and Molina account for 23 of them. That’s 77%. No team in La Liga has fewer different goalscorers than Getafe’s seven. Molina and Jaime Mata with 17 of those goals.
Too weak to obtain a draw
In total, there were 13 chances created in the game (five for Getafe). Getafe made just 195 accurate passes which is very poor for a team in the top ten of the most technical league. Getafe committed more than twice the number of fouls made by Atletico (11). Bordalas’ men conceded 26 fouls, we rarely see a team concede more fouls than Atletico Madrid.
Not really good in short passing, Jaime Mata’s teammates tried by long balls. On from 73 attempts, they were accurate 30 times; Atletico weren’t great either with 33 of their 74 crosses reaching their target. This team love crossing. We noticed it against Barcelona. Unfortunately, they weren’t effective against Atleti, completing just four crosses.
Simeone’s record vs Getafe: 15 matches, 13 wins, 2 draws and 0 (yes, zero) goals conceded. He allowed the left-footed striker Victor Mollejo to play. The Atletico youngster was only 10 years old when Diego Simeone took over Los Colchoneros in 2011 and turned 18 years this Monday.
Conclusion
Two first-half goals from Griezmann and Saul seal a deserved win for Atletico Madrid. Both sides had chances in the second half, but in the end, Atletico held on to keep their clean sheet. Getafe were visibly frustrated by the end of the game and received two red cards in the space of three minutes at the very end of the game to finish on a low point.
The form continues for Los Colchoneros, the best defence of La Liga (13 goals conceded and 11 clean sheets). They also extend their unbeaten streak in the Championship to 18 matches in waiting for the coming of Morata. Their next opponents are Real Betis. Getafe remains in sixth place as Real Betis also lost. For now, Bordalas will be hoping his side can put this result behind them when they face Valencia in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie.
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