Celta Vigo 2 - 0 Atletico de Madrid - Celta shock Atletico

Posted Monday, February 16, 2015 by PA

Celta Vigo stunned Atletico Madrid to bring the champions back down to earth after last week's demolition of Real Madrid, winning 2-0 at Balaidos thanks to two second-half goals.

Nolito converted a hotly-contested penalty in the 58th minute and Fabian Orellana then sealed the points for the Galicians with a thumping drive.

The defeat means Diego Simeone's side are in the same position as before their dream derby win - third in the Primera Division and seven points behind Carlo Ancelotti's side - while Celta put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone and moved up to ninth in the table.

Eduardo Berrizo's side had held Atletico to a 2-2 draw at the Vicente Calderon at the start of the season - one of just two teams to take points off them at home this season - and played with more intensity than the champions in the first half at Balaidos without creating too many clear chances.

The key moment in the game arrived 12 minutes into the second half, when Nolito tried to round Mario Suarez in the area and tripped over his trailing leg. Atletico were particularly furious at the decision, also claiming that Augusto Fernandez had handled the ball before entering the box. However, Nolito kept his cool from the spot and slotted into the bottom corner.

Mario Mandzukic tried to respond immediately for the visitors by shooting at goal from 25 yards, but Sergio Alvarez made a fine save to keep his side ahead.

Joaquin Larrivey should have killed the game off a moment later, arriving at the far post to meet Nolito's cross but failing to properly connect with the ball.

Atletico were not about to throw in the towel either, and Alvarez had to fling himself at the near post to prevent Antoine Griezmann's powerful effort squeezing in.

But Celta refused to simply sit back and soak up the pressure and instead kept on looking for the second goal, which they found with 19 minutes left.

Michael Krohn-Delhi strolled towards the area unopposed and played in Orellana on the right hand side of the box, and the Chilean arrowed the ball into the far corner.

Atletico still refused to give up, but this was never meant to be their day, as was demonstrated when they were denied a penalty as Guilherme Siqueira was kicked in the thigh by Andreu Fontas, and later when Mandzukic sent a free header straight into Alvarez's hands.