La Liga slips away on a small detail

Sørloth scored shortly after the start of the second half, but the goal was almost Giuliano’s. He began the move in his own half with a nutmeg to beat an opponent and then went on a full-throttle run down Anoeta’s right flank, bursting into the box and delivering a cross that was the perfect Reyes-like gift for the Norwegian, who only had to tap it in. The goal unsettled Real Sociedad, who until then had played a magnificent game—intense, pressing high during the build-up, full of energy and attitude, and with several chances to have taken the lead. But the goal knocked them flat, and minutes later, from an extraordinary pass by Baena that left Gallagher one-on-one, came what should have been the knockout blow, the decisive moment, the three vital points to stay in the title race. But the Englishman inexplicably missed.

The goal lulled La Real, and Connor’s huge mistake woke them up again. They responded with a brilliant move by Kubo that Guedes finished into the top corner. Equaliser. Simeone emptied the bench: Griezmann and Cardoso came on; earlier, Gallagher had replaced Barrios due to discomfort, and Le Normand had come on for Ruggeri, whom Kubo had booked far too early. Raspadori for Koke was Simeone’s final attempt to salvage the points. But the truth is that, with Barrios off, Julián absent, and Baena arriving and gradually finding his rhythm after an inconsistent season, Atlético cannot find the pulse of their game or their matches—and that is where their La Liga challenge is bleeding away.