Girona beat Atletico Madrid, coach Simeone stunned: 'The opponent was too high-class'

In the early hours of January 4th, Girona and Atletico Madrid played an exciting match with 7 goals. The home team, Girona, won 4-3, continuing their two-horse race with Real Madrid in La Liga.

At the end of 2023, Girona is currently ranked second in La Liga. They have the same 45 points as league leaders Real Madrid but are behind due to an inferior head-to-head record. Immediately behind Girona is Atletico Madrid, managed by Simeone. Therefore, the clash between the two teams in La Liga's 19th round is receiving a lot of attention.

Girona proved it's no coincidence that they have the best attack after the first half of the 2023-2024 La Liga season. Coach Miguel Sanchez's team repeatedly took the lead against Atletico Madrid thanks to three goals from Valery Fernandez, Savio, and Daley Blind in the first half.

Girona inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Atletico Madrid in the first half.

However, on all three occasions, Girona were pegged back by Atletico after Morata's classy hat-trick. Notably, this was Morata's third hat-trick of his career. Previously, the Spanish striker had achieved the same feat while playing for Real Madrid (against Leganes in the 2016-2017 season) and during his time at Chelsea (against Stoke City in the 2017-2018 season).

Morata scored his third hat-trick of his career.

Goalkeeper Jan Oblak's brilliance kept Atletico Madrid's goal intact in the second half against Girona's relentless pressure. However, in the final minute of injury time, despite his best efforts, the Slovakian goalkeeper was powerless to stop Ivan Martin from scoring the winning goal, securing a 4-3 victory for Girona. Coach Simeone was stunned after the defeat. He expressed his admiration for Girona: “Atletico played with great effort, but Girona displayed a high-class style of play. They were superior until the 35th minute of the first half. Trailing 1-3 after the first 45 minutes, Atletico managed to equalize at 3-3. The team's goal was to win, but Girona still showed excellence. This was a fantastic and exciting match. I'm not surprised by their position, especially considering how they played on the pitch.”

Coach Simeone was disappointed after losing to Girona.

Girona's dramatic victory gives them 48 points and keeps them close to Real Madrid in the standings. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid has 38 points and is now 10 points behind Girona and Real Madrid. They could even lose their third-place spot to Barcelona if the latter win against Las Palmas tomorrow (January 4th). In the earlier match, Real Madrid also secured a 1-0 victory against Mallorca. Defender Antonio Rüdiger became the hero for the "Los Blancos" with a goal in the 78th minute. The German player, recently returned from injury, made a clever move and headed the ball beautifully from a corner kick on the left wing taken by Luka Modric.

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