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Las Palmas kiss the Cup goodbye with a superb performance in the Calderón (2-3)

UD Las Palmas said goodbye to the Spanish Cup tonight, despite gaining a great victory against Atlético de Madrid (2-3). Two goals by Livaja and another by Mateo García gave victory to Setién’s team. The sour note to the game was the injury sustained by H

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Las Palmas pushed Atlético de Madrid all the way in a tie that was closer in the end than expected. The home team started with a comfortable cushion from the first leg, but could not strike any kind of rythm. The Canary team took the game to their opponents in the first half and had the better chances. A shot by Livaja was blocked by Moyá’s knee (min. 32) and another shot  byTana shaved the bar, following a fine dribble (min. 39). 

The injury to Hernán (min. 17) was the downside for the yellows. True to their footballing style, the away team made inroads into their opponents’ area. Atlético, for their part, were running after the ball. Griezmann and Correa were unable to get free of their markers. The Las Palmas defence were always one step ahead. Raúl Lizoain hardly had a save to make. All crosses that came his way were dispatched with the utmost confidence.

Quique Setién ,put a competitive team on to the Calderón pitch, with players who hadn’t featured much so far this season, but they settled in perfectly. The Cup is a competition that provides many surprises, but the 0-2 scoreline from the first leg Gran Canaria was just a bridge too far. A monumental effort was required to think of causing an upset. Las Palmas, in their way, were superior to Atlético in many phases of the match, and for this reason they came away with a win. 

With Griezmann scoring at the start of the second half, (min. 48), Atlético de Madrid were able to relax, allowing Las Palmas to get a quick equalizer in the 57th minute, thanks to Livaja. The Croatian forward hit a right footed shot that went past Moyá’s despairing dive. Three minutes later another Atlético goal, this time by Ángel Correa, once again settled the nerves at the Calderón, even though the home team were not at all convincing.

The game opened up and chances came and went for both sides. Simeone brought on Fernando Torres for Griezmann considering the tie to be all but over. Jonathan Viera also came on for the last twenty minutes to add a touch of quality to the play. Las Palmas strived for an equalizer against a robust Atlético team, who were happy to hit the away team on the break. But it was Las Palmas who pulled the scores level in the 88th minute with another goal by Livaja. Mateo García controlled the ball, nipped past Juanfran and put the ball into the path of the Croatian who put the ball into an empty net. Las Palmas rounded off a fine night’s work with the winning goal by Mateo García (min. 92) making the final score 2-3, which didn’t provide them with the cup upset they were looking for, but nevertheless allowed them to hold their heads high.