Atlético Madrid held again

Two consecutive scoreless draws quickly dampened the hype surrounding Atlético's new attack after it had opened the season with an impressive 6-1 victory over Granad

Madrid: The excitement and euphoria over Luis Suárez didn’t last very long for Atlético Madrid.

Two consecutive scoreless draws quickly dampened the hype surrounding Atlético’s new attack after it had opened the season with an impressive 6-1 victory over Granada.

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Atlético and Suárez struggled again on Saturday, being held by Villarreal at home in a Spanish league match which it finished with no shots on target. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain these situations when you try everything but can’t create opportunities,” said Diego Simeone, who was seeking his 200th Spanish league win as Atlético’s coach.

Suárez thrived in the opener but had already struggled — along with the rest of the team — in the 0-0 draw at promoted Huesca on Wednesday, a game that marked the Uruguay striker’s first start with his new club after being told by Barcelona that he wasn’t wanted anymore. Villarreal had dangerous chances at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday, but it couldn’t capitalize on them and squandered a good opportunity to come away with the victory. Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a few good saves to keep the clean sheet.

Unai Emery’s Villarreal, which entered the season amid high expectations and is sitting third in the standings, was coming off two wins from its first four matches. It lost 4-0 to Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium last weekend. Expectations also rose for Atlético after it signed Suárez and he scored two goals and set up another in about 20 minutes off the bench against Granada, but there was only disappointment after the consecutive 0-0 draws going into the international break.
Suárez, starting in place of Diego Costa and playing alongside Portuguese forward João Félix, had few chances in front of goal, just as had happened against Huesca. Suárez was substituted by Costa in the 70th minute on Saturday.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis held its spot at the top of the standings with a 2-0 win at Valencia thanks to goals by Sergio Canales in the first half and Cristian Tello in the second. The victory ended Betis’ two-game losing streak after it had opened with a pair of consecutive victories.

Real Sociedad moved immediately behind Betis in the standings after defeating Getafe 3-0 at home for its second win in five matches. Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino and Cristian Portugués scored for Sociedad.

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