With a 1-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, Atletico Madrid moved ahead of their rivals into third place in LaLiga thanks to a goal from Frenchman Antoine Griezmann early in the second half.
Soccer football - Laliga - Athletic bilbao vs. Atletico madrid - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - October 15, 2022 Alvaro Morata of Atletico Madrid and Yerray Alvarez of Athletic Bilbao compete in a match. REUTERS/Vincent West
Atletico currently has 19 points after nine games, passing Bilbao, who is in fourth place with 17 points.
Barcelona and Real Madrid, both with 22 points, meet in the Clasico at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
After a barren first half at San Mames, Atletico seized the lead in the 47th minute through Griezmann, who collected a nice feed from Alvaro Morata and sent a low first-time effort past goalkeeper Unai Simon.
It was the France striker's third LaLiga goal of the season, and his first in the league since the end of August, when he scored the sole goal in Atletico Madrid's 1-0 victory against Valencia.
Morata believed he had scored after 10 minutes, but the referee ruled it off for a foul in the build-up after a VAR review, despite the fact that the Spain striker had struck from a tight angle.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone was forced to replace goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 68th minute when he fell on his shoulder after clashing in the air with Bilbao winger Alex Berenguer and required medical care for the second time.
Oblak was replaced by 26-year-old Ivo Grbic, who showed off his abilities 15 minutes later when he tipped the ball away from goal, preventing Bilbao from leveling.
Just before full time, the Croat made another wonderful stop to keep away a header from defender Inigo Martinez, just as Bilbao claimed a penalty for handball.
A VAR review, however, revealed that Atletico defender Reinildo Mandava had stopped the ball with his face.
Atleti, who were held to a 0-0 draw by Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday and must now overcome Bayer Leverkusen and Porto to earn a spot in the last 16, came up against an in-form Bilbao team that had gone unbeaten in their previous four games.
In the four games, the Basques scored 12 goals.
On Tuesday, Bilbao will travel to Getafe, while Atletico will host Rayo Vallecano.
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