Valladolid 3 - Atlético Madrid 1

Valladolid: Bizzarri; Gaspar (Mustafá 80'), Jonathan, Caminero (Sousa 90'), Peña, Marcos; Colsa; Fernando Sales, Ciric (Oscar González 74'), Antonio López; Aganzo. 5-1-3-1.
Atlético: Esteban; Otero, Coloccini, Hibic, Carreras (Contra 54'); Emerson, Albertini (Stankovic 46'); Aguilera, Jorge (Javi Moreno 52'), Movilla; José Mari. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Valladolid: Gaspar, Aganzo for Torres Gómez, Mario / Atlético: Esteban, Otero, Coloccini, Carreras, Aguilera, Movilla for Juanma, Contra, Santi, Sergi, Luis García, Javi Moreno.

Goals:
1-0. 30. Fernando Sales. Took Colsa pass and cut in from right to score.
2-0. 50. Aganzo. Controlled Ciric cross on chest and beat keeper.
2-1. 60. José Marí. Far post header into top of net from left sided corner.
3-1. 75. Aganzo. Powerful header into net after good work by Oscar and Sales.

Atlético Madrid's centenary year goes from bad to worse, and they lost again this week, this time 3-1 to Valladolid. There had been a lot of bad feeling in the club over last week's "centenary match" defeat against Osasuna, with president Jesús Gil saying that some players did not deserve to live and threatening not to renew most of their contracts, and although tempers appeared to have calmed down the players did not seem to be quite as motivated as usual. True they did have the best of the first half hour, Aguilera and Movilla forcing saves out of Bizzarri, but it was the home side who took the lead with one of their first attacks, the excellent Colsa (actually on loan from Atlético) finding Fernando Sales for him to cut in and beat Esteban.

The wet conditions were making play difficult, but the goal inspired Valladolid to greater things. Ciric and Sales both went close, and five minutes in to the second half Aganzo beat the offside trap to collect Ciric's pass and score. Aragonés used up all his substitutions, bringing on Stankovic, Javi Moreno and Contra, and José Marí pulled one back, heading home Stankovic's corner with an hour on the clock. For a few minutes it looked as though the visitors might draw level, but a spectacular header by Aganzo from a Fernando Sales cross put the result beyond doubt and took the home side to within two points of their opponents in fourteenth place. In the last two years 42 points was enough to avoid the drop. On that basis Valladolid only need three more.