MY ACCOUNT
Atletico Madrid missed the chance to go joint-second in LaLiga after they were beaten 1-0 by relegation-threatened Real Mallorca.
Vedat Muriqi’s penalty settled a scrappy contest at the Visit Mallorca Estadi, where Diego Simeone’s side saw their six-match winning streak come to an end.
The reigning champions remain fourth in the table – three points behind second-place Sevilla – but have now won just twice in their last 11 away league meetings with Mallorca.
Meanwhile, Javier Aguirre’s side climbed out the relegation zone after ending a run of seven straight defeats.
Seeking a seventh straight league win and aiming to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat by Manchester City, Atletico dominated large periods of a stop-start first half.
Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann were narrowly off target but despite enjoying over two-thirds of the possession, the visitors were unable to turn their superiority into the opening goal of the contest.
Mallorca went close to breaking the deadlock within a minute of the restart. Brian Olivan, who last found the net on the opening day of this season, drew a smart save out of Jan Oblak with his 20-yard volley.
The hosts eventually opened the scoring midway through the second half, Muriqi confidently firing home from the penalty spot after Reinildo felled Pablo Maffeo in the box.
While Atletico continued to enjoy superiority in possession, they were unable to generate a threat to truly trouble Mallorca, who held on to complete only a fourth league double over Los Rojiblancos despite the loss of Iddrisu Baba to a head injury late on.
What does it mean? Back-to-back defeats for Atletico
Simeone’s men were beaten 1-0 for the second time in the space of a week following their Champions League reverse at City.
Despite having greater possession and recording over twice as many passes as their opponents, the visitors registered just one shot on target from nine attempts.
Muriqi the matchwinner
The Lazio loanee settled the clash with his third goal since arriving from the Serie A side. Aside from the penalty, the Kosovo international certainly did his bit for the hosts. Indeed, no player was involved in more duels throughout the contest (22).
Griezmann and Suarez struggle
The attacking pair were unable to make a significant contribution to the cause – their touch and pass tallies the lowest record by any starting player for Los Rojiblancos. Griezmann was withdrawn at half-time while Suarez was replaced just after the hour mark.
What’s next?
Atletico must dust themselves down quickly for the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final with City on Wednesday. As for Mallorca, they will look to build on their momentum away at Elche next weekend.
