Luis Suarez inspires Atletico Madrid to crucial victory in title charge
By Max Cooper
Atletico Madrid opened the gap on rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga to six points with a 2-1 victory over Athletic Club on Wednesday evening, with Luis Suarez at the heart of their success.
Los Rojiblancos were desperate to make good use of their game in hand, but it looked to be in danger after only 21 minutes, when Inaki Williams found space to cut the ball back for Iker Munain, who scuffed a shot beyond Jan Oblak.
Diego Simeone's men seemed destined to be heading into the dressing rooms behind at the break, but they pulled level on the stroke of half-time through a wonderful team move.
Thomas Lemar did excellently to keep the ball alive on the left flank, and he floated a teasing cross into the heart of the penalty area, where Marcos Llorente was waiting to power a downward header into the back of the net, much to the delight of Simeone.
Atleti were buoyed by their last-gasp goal at the end of the first half, and carried that energy into the second period, where they were rewarded almost immediately. Suarez was played in on the right hand side of the penalty area, and the striker wriggled free of his marker, only to hit the deck and demand a spot-kick.
The contact was minimal, but the referee agreed, and handed the Uruguayan the chance to poke his side's nose in front. Suarez dusted himself off and sent Unai Simon the wrong way to coolly dispatch the spot-kick, giving Atleti a precious lead to defend.
Los Rojiblancos were forced to work hard for the three points, and despite enduring a few scares with dangerous balls flashed across their box late on, Simeone's men stood firm to build a six-point lead over Barça at the top of La Liga.