Matchday 24 of La Liga, the Spanish La Liga, started with a great match. This Friday, Valencia welcomed Atletico Madrid and was able to get a 2-2 draw at the Mestalla Stadium. Being honest, this result was not good for any of them. Gabriel Paulista and Geoffrey Kondogbia scored for the hosts, while Marcos Llorente and Thomas Partey scored for the visitors.
The match was busy since its beginning, with great chances for both sides. Atleti were the ones to break the deadlock at the 15th minute. Llorente took advantage of Gabriel Paulista’s hesitation and shot the ball into the back of the net, putting Diego Simeone’s men ahead on the scoring.
The Brazilian defender redeemed himself for his mistake at the end of the first half, equalizing the match at the 40th minute. Maximiliano Gomez sent a strong cross into the box and the number 5 used his head to send the ball into Jan Oblak’s net.
However, the hosts’ joy didn’t last long. Three minutes later, midfielder Thomas Partey ran to the edge of the box and sent a beautiful shot past goalkeeper Jaume Domenech to put the visitors ahead before half-time.
In the second half, Valencia decided to attack more and more, looking for their second goal. They found it at the 59th minute when Daniel Parejo’s cross found Kondogbia, who sent a weak shot with his left foot to put the ball into the back of the net and celebrate with his teammates.
With the draw, both teams didn’t move on the table, for now. But both can drop some positions until the end of this matchday. Atletico Madrid is currently in the 4th position with 40 points, while Valencia is in the 6th position, with 38 points.
Both teams will focus now on the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. The Mates will travel to Italy, to face Atalanta next Wednesday. Atleti, on the other hand, will welcome the current Champions, Liverpool, the day before.