Atletico Madrid claimed their 11th LaLiga title as Angel Correa and Luis Suarez inspired a 2-1 comeback victory over Real Valladolid on a tense final day of 2020-21.
With second-placed Real Madrid facing Villarreal, Diego Simeone’s men needed a win to guarantee the title, but their hopes hung in the balance when Oscar Plana put relegation-battling Valladolid ahead.
But Correa’s superb solo effort restored parity, with a glaring miss from Shon Weissman at the other end setting the stage for Suarez to complete the turnaround.
Madrid produced a late turnaround to win 2-1 but finished two points behind their city rivals in the table.
The pressure on Atleti’s shoulders was reflected in a frantic start from the league leaders, with Suarez and Saul Niguez snatching at efforts before Valladolid struck.
In the 18th minute, a breakdown in Atleti’s attack resulted in Marcos de Sousa feeding Plano who, after just keeping himself ahead of a glut of chasing defenders, slotted coolly beyond Jan Oblak.
Jawad El Yamiq nearly handed Atleti a reprieve with what would have been a calamitous own goal, and with Weissman having squandered a chance to double Valladolid’s lead, Suarez went close after the restart, only for Saidy Janko to clear the Uruguayan’s goal-bound header.
Yet the pressure finally told in the 57th minute.
It looked like the chance to shoot had gone when Correa took a heavy touch, yet nifty footwork created space between four defenders and the Argentine prodded a brilliant finish low into the right-hand corner.
Valladolid seemed all set to restore their lead just after the hour, only for Weissman to again miss a golden opportunity, heading over a gaping goal after Oblak had parried Lucas Olaza’s strike.
Atleti made Valladolid pay, Suarez pouncing on Michel’s sloppy pass to race clear and curl home the decisive blow, clinching Simeone’s second LaLiga crown and condemning the hosts to the second tier.
Previous champions Real Madrid, who fought back to beat Villarreal by the same scoreline in their final match of 2020-21, finished second in the table, with Barcelona securing third by beating relegated Eibar and Sevilla – who play on Sunday – set to end the season fourth.
Atleti are the only team to have won Spain’s top league other than Madrid or Barca since Valencia claimed their sixth title in 2003-04.
Simeone is just the third coach to win two LaLiga titles for the club, following Ricardo Zamora (1939-40 and 1940-41) and Helenio Herrera (1949-50 and 1950-51).
The result also meant Valladolid were relegated to the second tier.
It is the fifth LaLiga title in the career of striker Luis Suarez, who finished as Atleti’s top scorer this season with 21 goals in 32 league games.
The 34-year-old only joined Atleti last year after being deemed surplus to requirements at Barca.
Former Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente was also key to Atleti’s title triumph. With 12 goals and 11 assists, he is the first Atletico player since Diego Forlan (32 goals, 10 assists) in 2008-09 to record a ‘double-double’ of at least 10 goals and assists in the same season.
Llorente has epitomised the way Atleti have performed beyond expectations this season. His 12 goals have come from just 3.41 expected goals (xG), and his 11 assists from 5.38 expected assists (xA). The difference in each of those figures is the highest among LaLiga players in 2020-21.
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