La Liga: Rayo 0-1 Atlético

Atlético Madrid ground out a 1-0 win away to a heavily handicapped Rayo Vallecano. The meeting of the two Madrid sides was rarely entertaining but always tight, until Radamel Falcao decided it midway through the second half.

Coming off the midweek defeat to Real Madrid in the derby, and with a Europa League tie against Valencia on the horizon, Diego Simeone made four changes. Arda Turan, Gabi, Luis Perea and Diego Godín dropped out for Eduardo Salvio, Mario Suárez, Miranda and Álvaro Domínguez.

Rayo began the stronger. Movilla, a popular former Colchonero, tested Thibaut Courtois from 20 yards, the young Belgian tipping his shot over the bar. Atlético gradually settled through Adrián and Diego. The Asturian teed up Filipe Luís for a shot and twice broke clear of Rayo’s defence, but on both runs he could not find Falcao in front of goal. Diego then slipped a pass inside to Salvio, whose effort went across the face.

Rayo were missing three Atlético loanees in Joel, Pulido and Diego Costa, and it was Costa’s stand-in Raúl Tamudo who worked himself into the game’s clearest opening. His close-range header looked destined for the net until Courtois kept it out with a spectacular save. At the other end Mario Suárez met Diego’s free kick but headed too close to David Cobeño. Before the break, winger Lass Bangoura, a reported Atlético summer target, gave Juanfran a torrid time and only just missed after cutting inside.

Michu headed wide early in the second half. Then, out of nothing, the goal. Juanfran fed Falcao near the halfway line; the Colombian stepped over the ball, left his marker behind, ran at Cobeño and slotted into the empty net. It was his 30th goal of the season and, by the club’s count, Atlético’s 1,500th away goal in La Liga.

Rayo coach José Ramón Sandoval gambled, replacing defender Raúl Bravo with Dani Pacheco, a Liverpool player taken on loan by Atlético and passed on to their neighbours. Michu tried again but Courtois held on in two attempts. Diego almost doubled the lead twice, one strike whistling past the post and a low drive pushed away by Cobeño. Five minutes from time Falcao missed a sitter, swinging at Adrián’s squared ball near the penalty spot and hitting only air. Adrián dithered over a late chance in added time before referee Mateu Lahoz blew for full time.

Atlético lined up: Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Domínguez, Filipe; Salvio (Arda 60), Tiago, Mario, Diego (Perea 90); Adrián and Falcao. The win kept the momentum of Simeone’s first months going, a stretch covered in the club history pages, with the season’s numbers in the stats section and more contemporary reports in the archive.