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Atletico Madrid earned a much-needed 2-0 victory over Real Betis on Monday to move up to fourth place in La Liga and respond to last week’s Champions League humiliation at Arsenal.
Diego Simeone’s team, beaten 4-0 in north London, produced a calm performance at the La Cartuja stadium, where Betis temporarily plays, to achieve their first away victory of the season.
It was also just their second clean sheet in nine games in all competitions, a sign of renewed defensive discipline from a team that has looked unusually fragile in recent weeks.
Giuliano Simeone, the coach’s son, opened the scoring early on with a powerful volley from the edge of the area: his first goal of the campaign.
Summer signing Alex Baena doubled the lead before the break, putting in a fine effort to register his first goal for the club and cap a dominant first-half display.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak later praised the resilience of his teammates. “It was an important victory, very hard fought,” he told Movistar. “We’ve had problems away from home, so I hope this is a turning point.”
Betis improved after the break and came close when Abde Ezzalzouli hit the crossbar with a free kick, but the Atlético defence, led by José María Giménez and Danilo, held on.
The victory leaves Atlético eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, the only team they have beaten so far this season. Giuliano Simeone dedicated the goal celebration to his newborn nephew Faustino, Diego Simeone’s first grandson.
“For me nothing changes,” the red and white coach joked after the game, while congratulating his son on his performance.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis remains sixth, three points behind Atlético. “We lacked sharpness in the final third,” admitted Giovani Lo Celso. “But we worked hard and the fans were with us the whole time.”
