Improving Atletico Madrid is 5th in the Spanish league with 2-0 win at Osasuna

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This article was published 28/09/2023 (1099 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid kept the momentum going from its win against rival Real Madrid by beating Osasuna 2-0 in the Spanish league on Thursday.

Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme scored a goal in each half for Atletico, which is in fifth place and right outside the Champions League spots.

Atletico beat rival Madrid 3-1 at home on Sunday, with Griezmann scoring one of the goals for Diego Simeone’s team.

“It was important not to get caught up with what happened against Real Madrid and to come here to win,” Griezmann said. “We are improving and we have to keep working to keep improving.”

Atletico has a game in hand after its match against Sevilla earlier this month was postponed because of storms in Madrid.

Griezmann opened the scoring with a shot from a tight angle in the 20th minute, and Riquelme sealed the victory in a breakaway in the 81st, not long after Osasuna had a goal disallowed because of a controversial foul on a defender inside the area in the 75th. Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate was sent off for complaining about the referee’s decision.

Both teams played with 10 men from the 85th after Osasuna’s Chimy Ávila and Atletico’s Álvaro Morata were sent off following an altercation between them. Spanish media said the two continued arguing with each other heatedly on their way to the locker rooms at El Sadar Stadium.

The result extended Osasuna’s winless streak to five matches in all competitions. It dropped to 14th place with the loss, the third at home in the league.

Before beating Madrid, Atletico was coming off a draw at Lazio in the group stage of the Champions League and a 3-0 loss at Valencia in the Spanish league.

In other results, Real Betis’ winless run reached four matches in all competitions after a 1-1 draw at second-to-last-place Granada, which was coming off three losses in a row. Assane Diao put the visitors ahead in the 51st before Granada’s Lucas Boyé equalized in the 67th.

Celta Vigo remained on the edge of the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at home against Alaves. The hosts opened the scoring with an own-goal by Rafael Marín in the 35th and Alaves equalized through Samuel Omorodion in the 73rd.

Celta, which had no shots on target, played a man down afer Luca de la Torre was sent off in the 68th.

Girona tops the standings after defeating Villareal 2-1 on Wednesday for its sixth straight victory. It is one point ahead of Real Madrid — which beat Las Palmas 2-0 on Wednesday — and two points ahead of fellow Catalan club Barcelona, which drew 2-2 at Mallorca a day earlier.

Barcelona kick-starts the weekend round by hosting Sevilla on Friday. Girona hosts Madrid on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer