CHANCE! When he is needed, Oblak comes up with the goods. Ba meets a cross from the left and directs a powerful header goalwards. It’s too close to Atleti’s goalkeeper, though, and he makes the save.
Gimenez picks up the first booking of the game, having fouled Comesana.
90'
Simeone is frantically gesturing to his team down on the touchline – so much so that the referee has had to top over and calm him down as we head into the first minute of three added on.
88'
Vallecano work a move down the left, but Pozo then plays pass into De Tomas that is far too heavy, and the forward is unable to keep it in play.
86'
More solid defending from Ba, as he lunges in on Griezmann, who had found space in the area. He cannot prevent the ball going out for a corner, however, though Atleti can’t make anything of it.
84'
Another half chance on the counter for Atleti. Griezmann leads it, powering down the left before trying to switch the play to Morata, but Ba intervenes at the vital moment.
82'
Terrific play from Godin, who charges out from the back and carries on his run after combining with Costa. He then tries to play in Morata, but the striker had strayed offside.
79'
Morata tries to get the better of Ba, who had made a scrappy attempt at a clearance. Vallecano’s defender recovers though, and wins a free-kick to relive some pressure.
76'
Álvaro García enters the game and replaces Alejandro Gálvez.
Michel, likewise, has made his final change. Galvez is off, with Alvaro coming on, with Vallecano now switching to a 4-2-3-1.
75'
S. Savić enters the game and replaces Rodri.
Simeone responds to going ahead by making a defensive change. Rodri, a midfielder, is replaced by centre-back Savic.
Minute
Description
74'
A. Griezmann has scored a goal for Atletico Madrid! Assist by Álvaro Morata.
Vallecano can consider themselves hugely unfortunate, but their defence simply switched off. Morata was initially offside when Felipe Luis crossed in, but Ba’s failed clearance meant that the Chelsea loanee was able to get himself back onside in order to tee up Griezmann.
GOOOOAAALL! GRIEZMANN MAKES IT 1-0 TO ATLETI! Well, that was just his fourth touch in the area, but he has made it count! Morata did well to force the ball into his path, and after taking it down on his chest, Griezmann managed to bundle home the finish with a help of a deflection off Amat.
70'
Lemar looks to inject some pace and urgency into Atleti’s attack with a driving sprint down the left, but after rounding Tito, the winger sees his cross blocked. Vallecano break up the other end, with De Tomas going down in the area under pressure from Gimenez, but the referee waves away Vallecano’s penalty appeals.
65'
De Tomas is still dropping deep to act as a playmaker for the hosts, and does well to force Saul into an error, with Comesane latching onto the loose ball before being fouled by – who else – the freshly introduced Costa. The resulting free-kick is put into the centre of the box but, despite having to come through a crowd of players, Oblak gathers it in.
63'
Simeone is certainly going all out for the points now, with what you could argue are the best attacking players at his disposal all on the pitch.
61'
And the second change sees Costa – who spent time on loan at Vallecano in 2012 – comes on in place of Vitolo. That will mean a switch for Griezmann, who has shifted wide to the left.
60'
T. Lemar enters the game and replaces Á. Correa.
Diego Costa enters the game and replaces Vitolo.
Here's the first change for Atleti, as Simeone responds to Vallecano's substitutions. It's an attacking one, with Lemar replacing Correa.
59'
Suarez seems to have been struggling in the last few minutes, due to losing a contact lense. Fortunately for the midfielder, a Vallecano coach has come to his rescue with a fresh one!
57'
José Pozo enters the game and replaces Adri Embarba.
Bebé enters the game and replaces Ó. Trejo.
A double change now, and it is Vallecano who blink first, as Michel looks to get his side on the front foot. Trejo is off, with former Manchester United forward Bebe coming on.
The second change sees Embarba – who was impressive in the first half – make way for Pozo.
55'
The free-kick is delivered to the back post, but Vallecano’s defence are quickly in place. The ball’s forced out to Correa, who tries his luck from range, but Dimitrievski is equal to it.
54'
Better from Vitolo, who finds enough space to put on the afterburners and drive towards the box, drawing a foul from Comesana.
52'
Vallecano work a patient move down the right, before Suarez gets on the ball in the middle and switches it over to De Tomas, who had drifted slightly wide. The striker sets himself before going for glory, but his speculative effort never looked like troubling Oblak.
50'
Morata does well to latch onto a searching ball from deep, holding the play up until his team-mates get up in support. Vallecano’s defence recover quickly, though, and when Griezmann gets on the ball, Amat is swiftly across to force him away from the box.
46'
No changes for either side at the interval, and we’re back underway. Atleti have got proceedings back up and running.
45' +2
HALF-TIME: RAYO VALLECANO 0-0 ATLETICO MADRID.
44'
A high, hanging cross from Suarez catches Atleti’s defence out, with Godin unable to get there ahead of De Tomas, but Vallecano’s forward can’t direct his header on target.
42'
De Tomas has been a reliable outlet for Vallecano so far, dropping deep to get himself involved, and also linking up well with Embarba. He may never make it at Real, but the striker certainly looks capable of making the step up to a higher level than Vallecano, based on this display.
40'
Vitolo has been particularly disappointing so far, and despite showing a flash of skill to skip away from Tito, the former Sevilla man then underhits his pass to Morata, who can only foul Ba as he attempts to win the ball back.
37'
Well, perhaps there will be a chance for Atleti to redeem themselves now. Griezmann feints cleverly, drawing a clumsy foul from Galvez, and the visitors now have a free-kick around 30 yards out, slightly left of centre.
36'
Simeone is fuming with his side. Atleti have offered little in the final third, and are now conceding possession far too easily in the middle. Vallecano have certainly had the better of this one so far.
33'
Vitolo tries to thread a pass through to Morata, but puts far too much power on it, allowing Dimitrievski to get there first, much to Simeone’s chagrin.
31'
Atleti finally manage to get Griezmann in behind, albeit the France forward was forced wide to get on the end of a looping cross. He still manages to hook in a cross, but his strike-partner Morata made a run to the near post, and the ball flies way over his head.
27'
There’s a 50/50 split in terms of possession so far, but it is Vallecano who are winning every second ball, and looking far the sharper of the two teams at the moment. Atelti, though, thrive on the counter, and may well just be looking to draw their hosts pounce before pouncing on the break.
23'
Good work from De Tomas, who gets back to help out his defence and prevent Vitolo latching onto a pass from Griezmann. Vallecano’s striker has scored nine league goals this season, and given he is on loan from Real, will definitely be out to prove a point today.
21'
Despite having those two early opportunities, Atleti have not come close to hitting their stride yet, and Simeone looks understandably frustrated on the touchline. Vallecano are, as such, growing in confidence, with Trejo having just drilled wide on the half-volley.
18'
Great work from Arias, who manages to force a corner after a stray ball from Correa looked to have seen an Atleti attack break down. Correa delivers an outswinging cross from the set-piece, which is initially cleared before the ball is worked back into Morata, who gets a header off, but only after fouling his marker.
14'
Vallecano’s support are in good voice, and their side are responding well. Griezmann has to drop deep to get involved in Atleti’s play, and although he wins a free-kick on the halfway line, Simeone will want his key man to be having an impact further upfield.
12'
Vallecano have certainly not looked to sit deep and soak up pressure in the opening stages, and Suarez has just done well to drive out of defence and draw a foul from Saul. The hosts work it wide, with Moreno skipping past Correa, but Rodri gets over to stem the danger.
10'
Suarez was a January arrival for Vallecano, and the midfielder is playing against his former club for the first time in LaLiga since ending his second spell at Atleti. He won the league, the Copa del Rey and Europa League during his time under Simeone, although he may have his work cut out against Saul and Rodri today.
8'
Griezmann curls in a delightful free-kick. Morata manages to get there, only to direct his header straight at Dimitrievski, who was well placed to make a comfortable save. It may not have counted anyway, however, given that the striker appeared to have strayed offside.
4'
An opportunity for Vallecano, as Embarba delivers a free-kick from the left wing. Atleti’s defence cope well, though, with Godin heading it clear while also drawing a foul, relieving the pressure.
1'
KICK-OFF! We are up and running. Vallecano have got proceedings underway.
Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of Atletico Madrid’s derby clash with Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga!
After going 18 games unbeaten in the league, Atleti have lost their last two fixtures, and Diego Simeone – who this week signed a new deal to keep him at the club until 2022 – will be looking for his side to get back on track against struggling Vallecano, who sit 18th as it stands.
With Real Madrid not in action until Sunday, Atleti have the chance to move back above their rivals into second place with a win, which would also see them move to within four points of leaders Barcelona, who face Vallodolid later on.
RAYO VALLECANO (5-4-1): Stole Dimitrievski; Tito, Alejandro Galvez, Jordi Amat, Abdoulaye Ba, Alex Moreno; Adrian Embarba, Santiago Comesana, Mario Suarez, Oscar Trejo; Raul de Tomas.
RAYO VALLECANO SUBS: Alberto Garcia, Alvaro Medran, Alvaro Garcia, Luis Advincula, Bebe, Jose Pozo, Franco Di Santo.
ATLETICO MADRID SUBS: Antonio Adan, Nikola Kalinic, Thomas Lemar, Stefan Savic, Diego Costa, Juanfran, Mikel Carro.
ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Santiago Arias, Jose Gimenez, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis; Angel Correa, Saul Niguez, Rodri, Vitolo; Alvaro Morata, Antoine Griezmann.
The teams are out Estadio de Vallecas, and we're almost ready for kick-off!
While Michel will want Vallecano to add more cutting edge to their performance, Simeone is not likely to have been impressed by Atleti’s display. Griezmann has been largely anonymous, Morata has struck a frustrated figure up top and the visitors have been unusually sloppy in possession. The Argentine may well look to his bench at the interval, with Costa, Lemar and Kalinic the attacking options at his disposal.
Well, that’s all we’ve got time for. Until next time, thank you and goodbye!
Vallecano can consider themselves unfortunate, with De Tomas having passed up several chances, while Oblak was in fine form. Atleti, though, just did enough, and now find themselves back in second place, with a Champions League tie against Juventus up next. The hosts, however, remain in the relegation places.
Commentary
More…