Atletico Overwhelm Osasuna 4-0 to Keep Title Hopes Alive
Atletico didn’t just win. They overwhelmed Osasuna.
Diego Simeone’s side tore through their visitors 4-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, a ruthless, one-sided display that sent a clear message in the early Liga title race and ignited the home crowd.
David sets the tone – and makes history
The noise had been building long before kick-off, but it was David who lit the fuse.
On 24 minutes, the summer signing struck to give Atletico the lead and settle any early nerves. One chance, one goal, and a different kind of tension took over: expectation. From that moment, Osasuna were chasing shadows.
That finish did more than open the scoring. It carved David’s name into the club’s modern history. With that first-half strike, he became the first Los Rojiblancos player in the 21st century to score in each of his first two La Liga matches. A statistic, yes, but also a statement. Atletico may have found their new reference point in attack.
And he wasn’t done.
Kang-in and the killer second
Osasuna staggered into the second half still in the contest on the scoreboard, if not in the flow of the game. That illusion didn’t last long.
Nine minutes after the restart, David turned creator. Spotting the run of Lee Kang-in, he slipped an incisive pass through the Osasuna back line. Kang-in did the rest, finishing with calm precision to double the lead and effectively end the contest.
The second goal broke Osasuna’s resistance. Atletico smelled blood and refused to ease off.
Le Normand and Baena finish the job
The pressure kept coming, wave after wave. Eventually, the scoreline began to reflect the dominance.
In the 63rd minute, Robin Le Normand added the third, tightening Atletico’s grip and turning a comfortable evening into a rout. By then, Osasuna’s shape had frayed, their confidence gone.
Alex Baena applied the final touch in the 82nd minute, making it 4-0 and sending many in the away end to the exits. Atletico, by contrast, stayed relentless to the final whistle, every attack greeted like a title-deciding moment.
Osasuna leave the capital stuck in 13th place, with just seven points from their first six matches and serious questions about their defensive resolve.
Star of the show, missing star on the bench
This was David’s night. A goal, a landmark, and a perfectly weighted assist for Kang-in’s strike. He drove Atletico’s attack, stitched moves together, and looked every inch the focal point Simeone needs for a long title push.
All of it came without Julian Alvarez.
The Argentine forward, still recovering from a muscle problem, was left out of the matchday squad entirely. Simeone had already flagged his fitness issues in his pre-match press conference, a small cloud over Atletico’s attacking options.
Any worries evaporated over 90 minutes. The squad depth stepped forward, the front line clicked, and Atletico proved they can live – at least for now – without one of their headline names.
Derby on the horizon
The win lifts Atletico to 13 points from six games, a strong start that places them third in the table. They sit just two points behind Real Madrid and leaders Barcelona. The margins are tight. The stakes are rising.
And now comes the real examination.
Next up at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano: Real Madrid. A Madrid Derby with the usual fire and, this time, a clear layer of title significance. Victory would not only fuel the city’s bragging rights, it would allow Atletico to leapfrog their neighbours and drive themselves deeper into the championship conversation.
For Osasuna, the mission is simpler but no less urgent. They return home to face Rayo Vallecano, desperate to steady themselves after a heavy defeat that exposed far too many cracks.
Atletico, though, walk away from this night with something more than three points. They have momentum, a new hero in David, and a derby looming that could redefine their season.
