Real Sociedad 0-2 Atlético Madrid: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Alvaro Morata Shines for Atleti
With an Alvaro Morata double, ten man Atletico recorded back-to-back away victories for the first time this season as they edged past Real Sociedad.
Atleti took the lead through a Morata header, as Thomas Lemar's corner was flicked on by Diego Godin and Morata was the quickest to react as he headed it home from close range.
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Minutes after scoring the opening goal Morata added another, this time from a free-kick, as Koke whipped in a great ball in and the striker headed it down into the ground and left Geronimo Rulli with no chance.
Atletico's task got harder midway through the second half as Koke foolishly got a second yellow card for a late sliding tackle.
Sociedad pushed for a goal to get them back in the game but couldn't manage to break down the stubborn Atletico back line.
Atletico Madrid
Key Talking Point
With a big three points in the bag, they will still feel like a title push may still be on the cards. Atletico defended magnificently throughout and even being down to ten men they never really looked like losing the game as their first half performance got the job done.
Atletico may see this as a dress rehearsal for their trip to Juventus with a 2-0 lead and they showed how to defend it.
Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages
Despite the red card for Koke, Atleti managed to limit the hosts to very little. It just showed how well drilled the team are even though they were down to ten men. The one chance Sociedad had was from a Mikel Merino header which was brilliantly saved by Jan Oblak who was at full stretch.
This was a tricky game against an opponent they haven't beaten away since 2015, and Los Colchoneros put in an incredibly accomplished performance as they cemented their place in second position ahead of city rivals Real Madrid.
Player Ratings
Starling XI: Oblak (6); Juanfran (7), Gimenez (7), Godin (7), Luis (6); Koke (6), Rodrigo (6), Saul (6), Lemar (7); Morata (8), Griezmann (6)
Substitutes: Arias (6), Partey (7), Correra (6)
Star Man
Since arriving from Chelsea, Morata has looked a different player and was a level above in this fixture. He could easily have had a hat-trick in the opening half an hour and was a real threat to the Sociedad back line.
Unfortunately, for him he was brought off with 20 minutes to play as Atletico looked to shut up shop and prevented the striker getting his third in the match.
Real Sociedad
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Rulli (6), Zaluda (5), Llorente (5), Navas (6), Hernandez (6); Zubeldia (6), Zurutuza (6); Oyarzabal (6), Merino (7), Sandro (7); Willian Jose (6)
Substitutes: Bautista (5) Juanmi (6) Pardo (6)
Looking Ahead
Atletico will continue to try and push Barcelona in La Liga as they face Leganes at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, and then travel to Turin to to face Juventus in their Champions League last 16 second leg on Tuesday night.
