Antoine Griezmann struck a second-half hat-trick as Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at San Mames tonight.
Mikel Rico headed the hosts into a thoroughly deserved half-time lead, but the Spanish champions rallied and Griezmann nodded home the equaliser within 30 seconds of the restart.
Raul Garcia then converted a penalty minutes later to turn the game on its head, before the Frenchman bagged his second and third goals of the night later on to cap a fine comeback.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how the game was won.
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Match statistics
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Shots: 4
On target: 2
Possession: 56%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 12
ATLETICO MADRID
Shots: 5
On target: 4
Possession: 44%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
In a word, yes. The 'game of two halves' adage rang through at San Mames as Atletico found themselves battered in a first half that saw the Spanish champions completely outplayed and out-fought. However, the Rojiblancos produced a rousing second-half display and scored four times to move within four points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid and prove that they will not surrender their title just yet.
Athletic Bilbao's performance
The Lions dominated the first half in terms of possession and earned a deserved lead at the break. In truth, their advantage was far more comfortable than it should have been, such was the level of Atletico's apparent apathy throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Coach Ernesto Valverde should have drilled home the importance of weathering an inevitable storm early in the second half, but they surrendered their lead within 30 seconds of the restart and they were very much second best from that point on and never looked like winning the game then. It was such a disappointing result in a game that promised so much for Valverde's side, but they paid the ultimate penalty for a sluggish start to the second half.
Atletico Madrid's performance
Diego Simeone's side came into this must-win game hoping to move within four points of Real Madrid - who have a game in hand - at the summit, but the reigning Spanish champions were terrible in a first half that saw them create next to nothing, with makeshift striker Griezmann struggling to pose the same sort of problems that Mario Mandzukic would have.
With Atletico also six points behind second-placed Barcelona, the visitors returned to the field for what was undeniably their biggest 45 minutes of the season and, to their credit, they responded brilliantly to that pressure. They began playing like champions directly from the restart and equalised within 30 seconds of the whistle in a slick passing move that saw Griezmann head home the equaliser.
It was virtually one-way traffic from that point on and the scoreline ended up being an accurate reflection of the contest. Simeone might be worried over the manner in which they started, but the Argentine can enjoy his Christmas dinner safe in the knowledge that his troops have no intention of letting Madrid and Barca make it a two-horse race for the title.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Antoine Griezmann: It's so hard to look past the Frenchman, who endured a completely anonymous first-half performance in an unfamiliar centre-forward role, but he adapted wonderfully in the second half and struck an excellent hat-trick to make Mandzukic - who was suspended tonight - slightly fearful over his position.
Biggest gaffe
Aritz Aduriz, often lethal in front of goal, spurned the best chance of the first half and missed the opportunity to double Bilbao's lead shortly before the break.
Los Leones' leading goalscorer this season skipped away from Diego Godin to go through with Miguel Angel Moya but, instead of shooting, cut inside Gabi, allowing Guilherme Siqueira to recover really well and thwart the striker at the final moment. It was brilliant from the left-back, but he should never have had the chance to break up the attack. Unfortunately for him, it turned out to be an extremely important miss in the context of the clash.
Referee performance
It was an extremely feisty first-half encounter that saw two players booked, but there could have been about six yellow cards dished out. However, the major moment of controversy came early in the second half when Alejandro Hernandez awarded Atletico a penalty in what looked an extremely soft decision, with Tiago going to ground very easily after Mikel San Jose pulled out of the challenge.
It marred what was a good overall performance from the Spanish official, but it was a massive moment in the game and one that Hernandez got wrong unfortunately.
What next?
Athletic Bilbao: Valverde's side are out of action until the New Year now when they face Deportivo La Coruna away on January 3.
Atletico Madrid: Atletico also have a two-week break to look forward to and will take on Levante at the Vicente Calderon in 13 days.
Shane Callaghan
