Antoine Griezmann scored a late penalty to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 home LaLiga win over Real Sociedad on Sunday, in a match where VAR was again in the spotlight following two controversial handball decisions.
The hosts dominated from the start and Samuel Lino opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a neat finish from close range.
Atletico wasted several opportunities, one of which was Rodrigo de Paul and Axel Witsel from close range, but Sociedad slowly began to take control of the match and almost scored when Mikel Oyarzabal’s shot hit Jan Oblak’s left and right.
In the 67th minute, referee Munuera Montero spent several minutes in a lengthy VAR check for possible handball in the penalty area, but decided there was no foul.
The visitors equalized through Oyarzabal following a counter-attack in the 73rd minute and Oblak made two important saves to prevent them from taking the lead.
Atletico had a golden opportunity to win the match when the referee saw Sociedad’s Carlos Fernandez handball in the 86th minute, and Griezmann, who stepped up as the executor, was able to carry out his task well to give his team the three points.
Sociedad players and coach Imanol Aguacil were furious and complained loudly to referee Munuera Montero because Fernandez was no longer playing when Griezmann’s shot hit his arm.
“When the referee decides, in the end things get complicated, but football continues,” Griezmann told DAZN.
“You have to set the rules and not leave it to the referee’s interpretation. Today he whistled to support us and we won. It’s not always like that.
“Sometimes the referee sees it clearly and sometimes he doesn’t. Maybe the referee doesn’t get enough sleep and doesn’t feel like interpreting right or wrong. You have to set the rules.”
Atletico, who have one game in hand, have 19 points from eight games and are fourth in the standings, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
