A laborious victory for Atlético

Atlético Madrid recorded a 2-0 win over Granada CF on matchday 19 of the Liga BBVA. Mario Mandžukić opened the scoring from the penalty spot, while Raúl García delivered the killer blow two minutes from the final whistle.

Granada put up a fight during the first half and came close to taking the lead through Piti but Miguel Ángel Moyà prevented what would have been a cracker from going in. The referee blew for a penalty in the 34th minute when Abdoul Sissoko took down Godín in the box and Mandžukić converted the resulting spot kick to open the scoring.

Atlético dominated the beginning of the second half with Antoine Griezmann trying his luck from distance on two occasions. With the Andalusians squeezed high up the pitch in an effort to grab an equaliser, Raúl García, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes, wrapped things up with a second Atleti goal.

Following this victory, the Rojiblancos closed out the first half of the season with 41 points. Meanwhile, Granada's poor run of form continues with them now having gone 15 matchdays without a win. The Andalusians are now rock bottom of the league table and only have 14 points.