They did it the hard way but once again, Atletico Madrid have been able to upset the established order and break the resistance of Spanish football s top two clubs. They did so after a fantastic campaign in which they were clearly the most consistent team in La Liga, and they finished it off by coming from behind to beat Real Valladolid 2-1 and capture the title.
The Suarez effect
Just like he did in the penultimate game of the season and just like he s done all season, Luis Suarez popped up and made himself the hero of the day for Atletico. They were struggling to really break through against Valladolid but with the game finely poised at 1-1, he helped his side to hit that next gear. Barcelona let him go because they felt as if he was past his best, but throughout the campaign, he s proven himself to be an elite forward and that s the sweetest kind of revenge.
Goodbye, Valladolid
Real Valladolid, in the end, wouldn t have stayed up regardless of whether or not they d won this game but their form in the last few months has told us all they ve been ready to depart La Liga and head back down to the second tier. There s a whole lot of work that needs to be done behind the scenes at that club if they re serious about moving in the right direction, and while they did show a lot of grit and determination in this loss, the summer still needs to mark quite a dramatic shift.
Atletico reign supreme
Atletico Madrid are often viewed as a club in the shadow of Real Madrid and Barcelona but maybe, just maybe, now we can start to change the tune a little bit. They did it in 2014 and now seven years later, they ve once again been able to climb to the top of the mountain. Diego Simeone deserves an awful lot of praise as their leader, and he also deserves the right to once again pursue that elusive Champions League title they want so badly.
Match Report
Real Valladolid: Masip (5.5), Olaza (6.5), Yamiq (7.5), Olivas (7), Janko (7), Villa (6.5), Emeterio (6.5), Mesa (6.5), Plano (7), Sousa (7.5), Weissman (6.5), Jota (6), Hervias (6.5), Mihel (6), Guardiola (5), Perez (6)
Atletico Madrid: Oblak (7), Trippier (7.5), Felipe (6.5), Gimenez (6.5), Hermoso (6), Llorente (6.5), Koke (7.5), Niguez (7), Correa (8), Suarez (7.5), Carrasco (6.5), Felix (6), Herrera (6), Kondogbia (6), Lodi (6.5)
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez
Goals: Plano :: Correa, Suarez
Yellow Cards: Yamiq, Emeterio, Sousa, Michel, Felipe, Niguez, Hermoso, Felix, Lodi
Red Cards: N/A
