Atletico Madrid earned a much-needed 2-0 win at Real Betis on Monday to climb to fourth in La Liga and respond to last week’s Champions League humiliation at Arsenal.
Diego Simeone’s side, thrashed 4-0 in North London, produced a composed performance at La Cartuja Stadium, where Betis are playing temporarily, to claim their first away victory of the season.
It was also only their second clean sheet in nine matches across all competitions, a sign of renewed defensive discipline from a team that has looked uncharacteristically fragile in recent weeks.
Giuliano Simeone, the coach’s son, opened the scoring early on with a crisp volley from the edge of the box – his first goal of the campaign.
Summer signing Alex Baena doubled the lead before half-time, bending in a fine effort to register his first for the club and cap a dominant first-half display.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak praised his teammates’ resilience afterwards. “It was an important win, hard-fought,” he told Movistar. “We’ve struggled away from home, so I hope this is a turning point.”
Betis improved after the break and came closest when Abde Ezzalzouli struck the crossbar from a free-kick, but Atletico’s back line, marshalled by José María Giménez and Danilo, held firm.
The victory leaves Atletico eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, the only team they have beaten so far this season. Giuliano Simeone dedicated his goal celebration to his newborn nephew Faustino – Diego Simeone’s first grandchild.
“Nothing changes for me,” the Atletico boss joked after the match, while congratulating his son on his performance.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis remain sixth, three points adrift of Atletico. “We lacked sharpness in the final third,” admitted Giovani Lo Celso. “But we worked hard, and the fans were with us all the way.”
