Atletico Are Back On Winning Track, Marked By Own Goals And Villarreal Woodwork

JAKARTA - Alfonso Pedraza's own goal marked Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at Villarreal's base in Week 25 of the Spanish League at the Stadion de la Ceramica, Sunday local time.

The goal came in the 25th minute, as Pedraza stood in an inopportune position when goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo managed to block Stefan Sevic's header but the ball hit his partner and lodged into Villarreal's goal.

According to Antara, referee Ricardo de Burgos initially annulled the goal due to an alleged offside, but in the end, confirmed it after consulting with VAR.

Villarreal was on the verge of scoring a goal back in the 36th minute when Alberto Moreno failed to respond to Dani Parejo's free-kick and the ball was cleared by keeper Jan Oblak before crossing the line before being swept away by Savic.

Nine minutes into the second half, Luis Suarez almost doubled Atletico's lead when he took advantage of a wild ball from Angel Correa's movement to cut Pau Torres's pass, unfortunately, his shot was countered by Asenjo.

Then in the 64th minute, Oblak made another perfect save to keep Atletico's lead when he blocked Carlos Bacca's shot, the ball vomited on Hermoso's arm but the referee considered it an accident so that no penalty was awarded for Villarreal.

Five minutes later, it was Atletico who were able to double the lead when Joao Felix snatched Pau Torres' poor sweeping ball with a sharp strike into the bottom left corner of the net.

Luck did not seem to be on Villarreal's side, because of another opportunity they created in the 82nd minute through Jaume Costa's hard kick hitting the woodwork.

Three minutes later, Oblak was again able to thwart Villarreal's chance when he swiftly brushed Alex Baena's volley over the crossbar to seal Atletico's victory.

These results brought Atletico back to winning track after falling in their last two matches while simultaneously establishing the top position with a collection of 58 points.

Meanwhile, Villarreal (37), who has now gone through seven games without a win, dropped to seventh.

Villarreal will play early for their next match on Friday, March 5 when they visit Valencia headquarters, two days before Atletico host Real Madrid in a Madrileno derby.