Atletico Madrid finally return to winning ways before Arsenal against miffed Athletic Club

Atletico Madrid finally return to winning ways before Arsenal against miffed Athletic Club Atletico Madrid 3-2 Athletic Club Atletico Madrid prepared for their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal with a victory over Athletic Club, in a bid to wash off the disappointment of their Copa del Rey final defeat. They left behind a miffed Athletic Club side, who will be trying to work out how they let the match escape them. One of the question marks over their European semi-final is whether usual starter Jan Oblak will be in goal on Wednesday, or if the in-form Juan Musso would begin, but the Slovenian was up to the task early on.

After a beautifully disguised cross from Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta to the back post found Gorka Guruzeta, Oblak was neatly across to block an accurate effort across goal. Los Colchoneros were seeking to find Griezmann inside with the chance to spring Alexander Sorloth and Giuliano Simeone loose into the space, and on a couple of occasions did so, but without end results. Neither side looked especially firm in their defensive duties in the opening 20 minutes, with Inaki Williams crafting a second excellent cross for Unai Gomez this time, but cursed his inability to control on the run.

It was Athletic that struck first though. A corner from the right was powered home by Aitor Paredes, breathing fresh confidence into Los Leones. Moments later, a brilliant flick Guruzeta opened up the Atletico backline, but with a two-on-one, Gomez could not get the pass in front of Inaki Williams.

As he tried to set himself for the shot, Marc Pubill crunched into an excellent challenge. There was little arguing that Athletic were the more comfortable of the two, without necessarily dominating. Struggling for rhythm, a Giuliano Simeone cross ten minutes before the break woke the crowd up, picking out Alexander Sorloth in the box.