Agency :
Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways in La Liga as Diego Simeone’s side edged out Valencia 1-0 in an entertaining contest at Mestalla.
Prior to the game kicking off, Valencia announced the signing of Edinson Cavani on a two-year deal, and the striker was in the stands to see his new side in action for the first time.
Alvaro Morata almost got Atletico Madrid off to the perfect start within four minutes, but his long-range effort which found the top corner was ruled out for offside.
That early warning sparked Valencia into life, and the home team were comfortably the better side in the first half. Their pressure eventually turned into what they thought was an opening goal, but Yunus Musah’s powerful long-range strike into the bottom corner in the 23rd minute was disallowed by VAR after a foul in the build-up.
Match official Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez was called into action again late on in the first half as he initially decided to send off Thierry Correia for denying Morata a clear goal-scoring opportunity. However, after viewing the incident again on the pitchside monitor, he overturned his decision and brandished a yellow card to the Valencia right-back instead.
Then, just minutes after being introduced as a substitute, Antoine Griezmann put his side into the lead in the 66th minute, as his shot from the edge of the area took a deflection off Carlos Soler and found the bottom corner.
Atletico’s Matheus Cunha had the ball in the net with five minutes to play, but the substitute’s effort was ruled out for offside. The away side clung on to secure their second league win of the season and move up into sixth place in La Liga.
