Javi Muñoz scored a unique goal in stoppage time (1-0) that temporarily takes Las Palmas out of relegation
On Saturday, Atlético de Madrid lost 1-0 in their visit to UD Las Palmas during matchday 32 of LaLiga EA Sports, thanks to a unique goal scored by Javi Muñoz in stoppage time of the second half, against the passivity of the two central defenders of Atlético, temporarily lifting the Gran Canarian team out of the relegation zone.
At the Gran Canaria Stadium, neither team stood out in the first fifteen minutes, although the locals seemed more determined. This was demonstrated by Fábio Silva with a dangerous cross to the penalty spot that was deflected by Jan Oblak, as a prelude to another important save by the goalkeeper.
From a corner kick, Scott McKenna headed the ball in a scramble inside the box and the other central defender, Álex Suárez, headed even closer, but the Atlético goalkeeper caught that centered shot. In the 28th minute, Las Palmas had another chance, after Dário Essugo stole the ball from Pablo Barrios and advanced to finish with a shot off target.
Atlético responded in the 37th minute, with a acrobatic move by Marcos Llorente to pass the ball to the right wing to Giuliano Simeone, who crossed to the far post where Julián Álvarez appeared; behind the defender, ‘La Araña’ shot from close range, but Dinko Horkas made a great save shrinking the space at mid-height.
Shortly after, the Croatian goalkeeper made another impressive save diving down, next to his right post, to deflect a header from Alexander Sorloth in another well-delivered cross from ‘Cholito’ Simeone. His father, Diego Pablo, was desperate on the Atlético bench for the two clear chances that had gone begging before halftime.
In the second half, without substitutions, the game was slow again and only a run by Julián Álvarez down the left side broke the monotony. His low cross into the ‘pío-pío’ area was controlled by Conor Gallagher, who couldn’t shoot because Álex Suárez blocked it from the ground… with his head! At this point, ‘Cholo’ Simeone decided to change his tactics.
Simeone brought Roro Riquelme on for Gallagher and Rodrigo de Paul on for Koke Resurrección. Getting impatient, after 64 minutes he replaced the booked Javi Galán with César Azpilicueta and also ‘La Araña’ with Antoine Griezmann, while on the opposite side Diego Martínez brought on Marvin Park as his first substitution.
It was Marvin Park who had a shot in the 73rd minute, after another steal by Essugo, but the Atlético defense thwarted any danger. In response, De Paul delivered a lofted cross from the right wing and Griezmann headed off target, just before Ángel Correa replaced Sorloth up front and, for Las Palmas, Sandro Ramírez entered the field.
José Campaña and Jaime Mata were the last cards Las Palmas played in attack, and it paid off in stoppage time. In a ball that wasn’t too difficult to clear, Mata fought alongside the two Atlético central defenders; both Robin Le Normand and Josema Giménez were in the mix, so the former Getafe player took advantage.
Behind his teammate and Giménez, Javi Muñoz ran to send that loose ball between the legs of an Oblak whose rush was half-hearted. The entire Atlético team was caught off guard in this boring match and to make matters worse, not even VAR saved them, as there was no offside as Giménez had touched the ball.
In the last play of the game, Las Palmas secured a golden victory, temporarily moving out of the relegation zone with 32 points. On the other hand, the absurd goal conceded cost Diego Simeone’s team another defeat, leaving them with 63 points and virtually ending their chances of catching up to league leaders Barcelona (73 pts.).
MATCH FACTS.
–RESULT: UD LAS PALMAS 1 – ATLÉTICO DE MADRID 0 (0-0 at halftime).
–LINEUPS.
UD LAS PALMAS: Horkas; Viti, Álex Suárez, McKenna, Mármol; Javi Muñoz, Bajcetic, Essugo (Sandro, min.79), Moleiro (Campaña, min.83); McBurnie (Marvin Park, min.67), Fábio Silva (Mata, min.83).
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID: Oblak; Llorente, Giménez, Le Normand, Galán (Azpilicueta, min.65); G. Simeone, Barrios, Koke (De Paul, min.59), Gallagher (Riquelme, min.59); Julián Álvarez (Griezmann, min.65), Sorloth (Correa, min.75).
–GOAL:
1-0, min.90+4: Javi Muñoz.
–REFEREE: García Verdura (Catalan FA). Booked Javi Muñoz (min.71), Essugo (min.77), and Mata (min.90+4) for UD Las Palmas, and Galán (min.54) for Atlético de Madrid.
–STADIUM: Gran Canaria, 27,154 spectators.
–NOTES: Josué Falcón Morales, chosen as the best ham cutter in Spain, performed the ceremonial kick-off.
