Portuguese international João Félix scored his second goal for Atletico Madrid on Wednesday with the clincher as Los Rojiblancos won 2-0 at Mallorca in La Liga.
Atletico led 1-0 at half time on the Spanish island through Diego Costa’s 26th-minute header, with former Benfica starlet Félix making sure of things on 64 minutes when his sharp control and left-footed finish took a deflection before finding the back of the net.
Félix’s first goal since 1st September against Eibar will undoubtedly give the youngster a boost, but the more complete nature of the 19-year-old’s performance will encourage many. Madrid newspaper AS wrote: “From the beginning of this match, the Portuguese participated much more and was sharper than previous matches” referencing the Eibar match in which Felix scored “but after only offered flashes”.
Speaking after the match, Atleti coach Diego Simeone discussed the quality of his strikeforce ahead of Saturday evening’s local derby with Real Madrid. “I am happy because we needed the goal from Diego Costa, who is one of our most important players, like Morata and Correa. If they are in form the team has more chance to win. Also with the talent of João, before anyone says I forgot João …”
Elsewhere in Spain this evening, Valencia issued a debut to Portuguese left-back Thierry Correia in their 3-3 draw with Getafe. The former Sporting defender played the full ninety minutes for Los Ches and his performance has received positive reviews in press write-ups.
By Sean Gillen
