Madrid (AFP)

Atlético goes up the slope: after a very gloomy autumn, the Madrilenians chained their third consecutive victory in all competitions Sunday on the field of Betis Seville (2-0) for the 18th day of La Liga, and go back to 4th place.

The mixed performance of Thomas Lemar, holder completely transparent Sunday in Seville, will have indirectly changed the match: the French international came out in the 56th minute without a look for his coach, and was replaced by Angel Correa ... who opened the scoring on his first ball two minutes later (58th).

The Argentinian went up to the dry cleaners on Alex Moreno, then eliminated Joel Robles with a hook, before offering a decisive pass to Alvaro Morata, who signed the goal of victory over a pretty Madjer (heeling towards goal) at the 83rd.

A success that does a lot of good for the Colchoneros: threatened with expulsion of the qualifying places for European competitions three weeks ago after the setback against Barça at the Wanda-Metropolitano stadium (1-0), the men of Diego Simeone, him also on an ejector seat three days ago, got back together to ensure their presence in the top 4 before the break.

Their match against Betis, modest 13th provisional in the Spanish championship, is nothing exceptional. But the people of Madrid have confirmed that they are recovering all their offensive effectiveness, after having remained very silent against goal since mid-November.

Goalscorer, Morata could have added some salt to the bill, but his header was canceled for an offside position (8th) and his face-to-face with Bétis goalkeeper Joel Robles (35th) turned to the advantage of the Andalusian doorman, who diverted with the tips of his fingers the strike of the striker of Atlético on his post.

But this 2-1 is already heavy for the Sevillians, who have long worried the Madrid team, carried by an omnipresent Nabil Fékir.

The former Lyon midfielder, who arrived in Seville last summer, did everything in the first half, tackling defensive tasks and multiplying the dribbles (10th, 24th), dangerous centers (12th) and strikes, like this shot wound in the surface, repulsed by a defender (26th).

The goal of Marc Bartra, in additional time (90th + 3), will arrive too late: the Betis gets bogged down to finish 2019, and the red and white offer a nice gift to their supporters before the Christmas truce.

© 2019 AFP