Miranda and Diego Costa were on target as Atletico Madrid
beat plucky Elche 2-0 to go six points clear at the top of La Liga on Friday.
Brazilian defender Miranda grabbed his second goal of the
season in the Spanish top flight 18 minutes from time after David Villa had
failed to convert a second-half penalty.
Costa, who missed a penalty at Getafe last weekend, then
secured the points with his 35th goal of the season from the spot after
Cristian Sapunaru had brought him down - and received a second yellow card - in
added time.
Diego Simeone's side had been frustrated by
relegation-threatened Elche at a packed Vicente Calderon before Miranda and
Costa secured an eighth consecutive La Liga victory.
With Barcelona not playing until Sunday and Real Madrid
out of action this weekend, Atleti now have an ominous advantage at the summit
with four games remaining as they attempt to win their first La Liga title
since 1996.
Defeat for Elche, on the other hand, keeps them only four
points above the relegation zone.
Costa suffered a leg wound in a collision with a post in
the victory at Getafe last weekend, but the striker was passed fit to start.
And the Spain international was soon in the thick of the
action when he fired into the side-netting after Adrian Lopez laid the ball off
to him five minutes in.
Elche were not content to just make up the numbers,
though, and Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to keep out a left-footed
strike from Javi Marquez, then had to be alert to thwart Damian Suarez when the
defender was allowed a free header from the resulting corner.
Filipe Luis fluffed his lines at the other end when the
ball fell kindly for him in the penalty area before the home side were given
another scare just before the half-hour mark, when Carles Gil fired over the
crossbar from inside the area.
Atleti were not at their best in the first half, but
ought to have been in front four minutes before the break when Costa flicked on
Juanfran's cross and Villa prodded wide with the goal gaping.
Villa had appeared to be in an offside position, but the
flag failed to go up.
Simeone replaced Adrian with Raul Garcia at the break and
the substitute took only four minutes to make an impact, as Sapunaru was
adjudged to have bundled him over in the area and Carlos Clos Gomez pointed to
the spot.
Villa stepped up to take the resulting penalty after
Costa's miss against Getafe, but the former Barcelona man also failed from the
spot as Manu Herrera kept out a tame effort diving to his left.
There was more frustration for Villa when he had a goal
ruled out for offside and was then substituted to ensure Elche remain the only
current top-flight team he has failed to score against.
Costa was booked following his reaction to two strong
challenges, which sparked a melee that also saw Alberto Rivera go into the
book.
An animated Simeone orchestrated the Atleti faithful and
the opening goal they craved eventually arrived when Miranda rose highest to
head home Jose Sosa's corner in emphatic fashion.
Costa then raced clear and was denied by Herrera, but
made no mistake when he sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot after
Sapunaru had upended him in the 90th minute. The defender was shown a second
yellow card to compound his misery.
Culled from Soccerway
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