Atlético Madrid

According to Spanish football federation president Juan Luis Larrea, La Liga will begin using Video Assistant Referee technology next season if all goes according to plan. Given La Liga’s refusal to use goal-line technology on the grounds of cost concerns, the proposed introduction of VAR in the Spanish top flight represents something of a shock.

Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw with FK Qarabag in Azerbaijan in Champions League group play on Wednesday despite playing with a man advantage for over 15 minutes. Atletico landed only three shots on target in another tepid display that makes Diego Costa’s January arrival all the more pressing. 

Going into today's Atletico Madrid-Barcelona clash, Barcelona had won every game in La Liga and no opposition player had scored in Atleti's new stadium, the Wanda Metropolitano. Neither of those things are true anymore.

Atleti's Saul Niguez opened the scoring with a beautiful shot after a couple of great saves from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Atletico Madrid and Chelsea were supposed to draw. It was written in the stars. This match was predestined to end 0-0 or 1-1, with no other acceptable scores.

And it really should have ended in a draw. The match was at 1-1 with neither team looking very interesting going forward, but then Chelsea backup striker Michy Batshuayi, he who scored the goal that sealed the Premier League for Chelsea last season, spat in the face of God and preconceived #narrative and scored the winner in the 94th minute with the last kick of the game.

Chelsea wantaway striker Diego Costa appears to have finally wrangled the move he has been angling for, back to Atletico Madrid and their shiny new stadium.

The statement on Atletico Madrid's website:

Atletico Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at the San Mames on Tuesday to continue their unbeaten start to league play after five matches. But anemic draws against Girona and Valencia find them trailing Barcelona by four points, and you can’t fight the feeling that despite the continued excellence of players like Koke and Antoine Griezmann, there’s a Diego Costa-sized hole in this Atleti side.