Alvaro Morata, an Atlético Madrid substitute, scored a thrilling goal in the last seconds of the second half to secure all three points for Los Colchoneros at Estadi Montilivi, handing Girona only their second home loss in their previous nine La Liga games.
Atléti's poor start to the game would have left those wanting to see them continue where they left off after crushing Sevilla 6-1 the previous time out bitterly disappointed. The only goal for Diego Simeone's team came from an Antoine Griezmann strike after 20 minutes. Girona had the most of the possession early on but eventually failed to threaten Jan Oblak's goal.
After settling into a routine, Atlético's Depay wasted two close-range opportunities by wastefully powering over the crossbar, as backup striker Morata puzzledly watched from the sidelines. The Rojiblancos were left perplexed as to why they hadn't scored before halftime until Mario Hermoso managed to join the action by spooning a free header off-target.
In the second half, Girona started to assert their dominance over the game, beginning with David López, who almost brought down the house with an outrageous halfway-line attempt that sent Oblak running back to his goal line. Before Morata succeeded where Depay had failed with a poacher's goal from a corner, tapping in at point-blank range to cause wild celebrations on the touchline, on-loan Rodrigo Riquelme squandered a glorious chance to score against his own club with a sloppy touch and feeble effort at the back post.
As Atlético has gone undefeated in their previous nine La Liga games, Girona manager Mchel was understandably upset by the late hammerblow. His team has yet to defeat Atlético. The hosts, who had scored 11 goals in their previous three games, remain in 12th place while the Rojiblancos cling to third place in the standings.
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