BEVERLY HILLS, November 07, (THEWILL) – Centre forward Joao Felix was the star as Atletico Madrid advanced to the top of the table and extended their unbeaten run to 23 La Liga games by thrashing Cadiz 4-0 at Wanda Metropolitano.
Diego Simeone’s men, the only unbeaten side remaining in Spain’s top flight, made light work of opponents who had won their last four away matches without conceding.
Atleti had the lead inside eight minutes. Cadiz Argentine keeper Jeremias Ledesma fumbled Koke’s free-kick to right midfielder Marcos Llorente, whose cross was headed home by the mercurial Joao Felix.
Jeremias’ shocking start continued when he flapped at another cross, with Juan Cala subsequently going close to scoring an own goal. Atleti did not have long to wait for their second.
Llorente decided to shoot from a tight angle and Jeremias horrendously failed to react, allowing the ball through at his near post.
To add to his woeful performance, Jeremias palmed a cross straight to central midfielder Saul Niguez who tapped into the net just after the half-hour mark. But the midfielder’s tap-in was disallowed for offside, while Suarez twice went close after.
But, Suarez had his goal six minutes into the second half. The Uruguayan drilled in across Jeremias after latching onto Joao Felix’s throughball, with the goal given after a VAR check overturned an initial offside decision.
Atleti goalie Jan Oblak had his first save to make just before the hour when he got down to save Jairo Izquierdo’s deflected strike.
Another Cadiz substitute, Jon Ander Garrido, forced Oblak into a fine stop, but by then, Cadiz’s impressive away run had crumbled.
Yet, Atletico still had time for Joao Felix’s emphatic second, which was set up wonderfully by Angel Correa.
Atleti’s last defeat dates back to a derby loss to Real Madrid in February. It is their best-ever unbeaten stint in La Liga and the longest current run of any team in Europe’s top-five leagues.
This win puts them ahead of Real Sociedad, who have played a game more and whose fixture on Sunday may well be called off due to their opponents Granada having been hit by a glut of positive coronavirus tests.
It was an impressive display from Joao Felix, who scored twice and collected an assist for Suarez’s goal as well as creating a game-high four chances.
Cadiz’s goalkeeper had conceded just once in his previous five LaLiga appearances prior to Saturday’s clash, but Jeremias showed none of that form during an abysmal first-half display.
Atleti welcome Ronald Koeman’s Barca to Wanda Metropolitano for a huge clash on November 21 after the international break, with Cadiz are in action at home against Real Sociedad a day later.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
