Girona (Spain), Dec 3 (IANS) Visiting Atletico Madrid was given a late 1-1 equaliser on an own goal by Girona defender Jonas Ramalho, following the first-half 1-0 lead scored by Uruguayan striker Christian Stuani.
Atletico extended its away winless skid to four matches on Sunday, reports Efe news.
In the first-half stoppage time, Atletico midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, better known as “Rodri,” had a miss-pass that was scooped up by Girona winger Patrick Roberts, who passed the ball to the unmarked Stuani.
Stuani dribbled past Atleti’s keeper, Jan Oblak, who fouled the Uruguayan forward. Initially, the referee whistled a foul from outside the area; however, he gave the Girona striker a penalty after checking the VAR system.
Stuani successfully converted the penalty try and the hosts went into half-time with a 1-0 advantage.
After the half, Atletico ramped up its attack to get on the scoreboard, and midfielder Saul Niguez fired a long-distance shot in the 76th minute that forced a remarkable save by Girona keeper Gorka Iraizoz, who replaced injured teammate Yassine Bounou, of Morocco.
Eight minutes before the second-half stoppage time, Ramalho was vying for the ball with Atletico striker Diego Costa just in front of Girona’s net when he accidentally put it home for the 1-1 equalizer.
With its seventh tie of the season, Atletico provisionally holds the third spot in the La Liga standings, with 25 points, while Girona is seventh, with 21 points.
–IANS
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