Atletico Madrid 3-1 Girona: Griezmann scores twice as Atleti come from behind to defeat visitors

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid defeated Girona 3-1 in a top-of-the-table LaLiga match on Saturday.

Girona suffered another setback, having led the LaLiga table for several weeks in the first half of the season but recently running out of steam, losing five consecutive away games.

With the win, Atletico moved up to 61 points, four behind Girona in third. Barcelona, which plays at Cadiz later on Saturday, are second with 67 points. Real Madrid lead with 75 points.

At a sunny Metropolitano stadium, the noisy home crowd was stunned when LaLiga top scorer Artem Dovbyk scored his 17th goal of the season with a tap-in from a counter-attack in the fourth minute to give the visitors the lead.

However, Atletico took control of the game, dominating possession and equalising with Griezmann from the penalty spot in the 34th minute, following a handball inside the six-yard box by Girona defender Miguel Gutierrez.

In a game marred by contentious refereeing decisions, Girona claimed they were denied a penalty in the final minutes of the first half for a strong challenge by defender Reinildo on Savinho inside the box.

Six minutes into stoppage time before the break, Alvaro Morata kept the ball on the byline and crossed to Angel Correa, who nodded a towering header into the far corner to put Atletico ahead.

Five minutes into the second half, the hosts doubled their lead when Jhon Solis sliced a clearance, and Griezmann pounced on the loose ball inside the six-yard box, unleashing an unstoppable strike that went in off the crossbar.

Atletico will now focus on Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, following a 2-1 victory at home in the first leg.

"First it was very important to win (against Girona) because we need to qualify to the Champions League next season and that goes through (a top-four finish) in the league," Griezmann told DAZN.

"Now we want to progress to the (Champions League) semi-finals and will travel to Germany with an extra-boost in confidence after this great effort."

SportsLigue