Atletico Madrid kickstarted their season on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Villarreal, thanks to goals from Pablo Barrios and Nico Gonzalez. This win marked Atletico’s first of the campaign.
The triumph elevated Atletico to ninth place in the LaLiga standings, accumulating five points from four matches, while handing Villarreal their first loss of the season after a month of play.
Villarreal remains in fourth place with seven points, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five.
Atletico opened the scoring early when Julian Alvarez seized on a defensive error in the ninth minute, intercepting Sergi Cardona’s misplaced back-pass to Renato Veiga. Alvarez then delivered a perfect backheel pass to Barrios, who netted a first-touch shot past Luiz Junior.
The hosts missed a chance to extend their lead three minutes later as Giuliano Simeone failed to convert from close range, sending his unmarked shot wide of the far post after another excellent pass from Alvarez.
Despite dominating possession with over 70% in the first half, Atletico struggled to penetrate Villarreal’s defense and create clear scoring opportunities.
Villarreal grew more dangerous, with Alberto Moleiro squandering two counter-attack chances, and Nicolas Pepe causing havoc down the right before hitting the crossbar with a free kick just before halftime.
After the break, Villarreal came out strong, but Atletico capitalized on a swift counter-attack in the 52nd minute. Gonzalez met Marcos Llorente’s cross with a powerful header to double the lead.
Atletico thought they had a third goal when Alexander Sorloth headed in from a corner in the 72nd minute, but it was disallowed by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero for an alleged foul, leaving players and fans frustrated as replays showed no clear infringement.
“Getting points was crucial after our tough start. We won convincingly today. We weren’t terrible before, nor are we perfect now,” said captain Koke to Movistar Plus.
The victory came at a cost, with Julian Alvarez, David Hancko, and Robin Le Normand all suffering injuries just four days before Atletico’s Champions League opener at Anfield against Liverpool.
