La Liga: Atletico Madrid rise to fifth spot after thumping Osasuna

PAMPLONA: Atletico Madrid won back-to-back matches in the ongoing La Liga season as they thumped Osasuna 2-0 in a heated clash on Thursday at El Sadar.

After defeating city rivals Real Madrid 3-1 on Sunday, Atletico Madrid carried the momentum against Osasuna and created a few chances early on before Antoine Griezmann hit the net in the 20th minute to draw first blood.

The home side could not do much in the first half, however, they dominated the second half in their quest for an equalizer and after 76 minutes, they earned the reward as David Garcia scored from a corner, but the goal was disallowed because Ante Budimir was found to have fouled Axel Witsel.

Atletico Madrid, doubled their lead a few minutes later, thanks to Samuel Lino breaking forward and passing to Rodrigo Riquelme who made no mistake to make it 2-0 to seal the game for the visitors.

The closely fought encounter saw players losing their cool towards the end as Chimy Avila and Alvaro Morata got into a fight and both got red. After seeming to stamp on Morata, the Osasuna player was given a straight red, while Morata received a second yellow for his response.

Meanwhile, two other La Liga fixtures ended at a 1-1 draw as Celta Vigo drew with Alaves at Estadio de Balaídos, and Granada drew Real Betis at Nuevo Los Cármenes.

Granada were on a three-match losing streak prior to the game, and it appeared that it would be extended to four losses, however, Bryan Zaragoza’s cross met Lucas Boyé in the 67th minute, who netted from very close range to equalize and save his team from another defeat.

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