Atletico Madrid scored four goals in the second half of their Europa League second leg tie with Lokomotiv Moscow, winning 1-5 on the night. Their 8-1 aggregate victory sends out a strong message to the rest of the teams in the competition, and seals their place in the quarter finals.
- Correa grabs the first -
Angel Correa opened the scoring for the visitors in the 15th minute, capitalising on some patient attacking play at the start of the game. Correa played a neat one-two with Koke down the right, cutting open the defense, before hitting a low back-post shot that beat Anton Kochenkov.
- Screamer from Rybus -
However their lead lasted all of five minutes, as Maciej Rybus cancelled the opener out with a screamer from distance. The defender picked the ball up outside the box after a corner, before smashing it with his left foot. The shot went through everyone, including the keeper, who should have done better. Atletico tried a few long shots of their own later in the half, with Juanfran and Thomas Partey both having a go, but the keeper did well for both. Both sides looked for a second goal, but although Atletico looked slightly more threatening, neither side were successful. At half time Atleti led 4-1 on aggregate.
- Straight out of the blocks -
Diego Simeone’s side really turned it on in the second half, and scored one minute into the period through Saul Niguez. The Spaniard received a low cross from Filipe Luis, and finished with ease to retake the lead for Atletico right at the start of the half.
- Offensive approach -
Simeone surprised when he brought on Antoine Griezmann midway through the half, playing with three strikers, as Fernando Torres and Correa remained on the pitch. The French sub made an instant impact, darting through the Lokomotiv defense and winning a penalty for his team in the 64th minute. Interestingly, Torres was the man to take the pen, finishing it with aplomb. The Spaniard doubled his tally five minutes later after some neat work from Correa found him one on one with the keeper.
- Cherry on the top -
Correa was the provider in the 87th minute too, as his eye-catching skill allowed him to feed Griezmann inside the box. Correa, who was one of the best players on the pitch, flicked the ball behind his head to beat his man, and Griezmann finished the move spectacularly, dinking a sublime chip over Kochenkov to seal the 5-1 win.
- Agony for Luis -
The only negative of the night for the visitors was Filipe Luis’ injury in the 56th minute of the game. The defender rushed back to put in a last-ditch tackle in on Eder, who was winding up to shoot at Axel Wagner’s goal. The shot that was aimed for the football ended up striking Luis’ ankle, and he went down in serious pain, requiring a stretcher to leave the field. If the injury is as serious as it looked, Luis could be out for the rest of the season, which would be a big blow to Diego Simeone.