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The celebrations were wild even before the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game. Diego Simeone and his players couldn’t keep their cool anymore.
Atletico Madrid were 2-1 up against Real Valladolid on the final day of the season and the result was going to be enough to crown them La Liga champions.
Despite falling behind in the first half to a goal from Oscar Plano, the Rojiblancos put up a spirited performance in the second half to overturn the result.
Angel Correa started the comeback when he restored parity for Atletico Madrid in the 57th minute. Ten minutes later, Luis Suarez was on hand to score the goal that eventually became the winner.
Suarez leads Atletico Madrid to La Liga victory
At full-time, Suarez couldn’t hold back his tears after his goal helped Atletico Madrid win La Liga. The Uruguayan joined the Rojiblancos last summer after being deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona.
However, he has proven that he’s not finished yet. His winner against Real Valladolid was a throwback to the menacing striker that he once was.
He may have lost pace, but Suarez sprinted so many meters before calmly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper to give Atletico Madrid a priceless lead.
It was his 21st league goal of the season and another crucial strike in Atletico’s title-winning campaign, having scored other similarly important goals for Simeone’s side in the course of the season.
Barcelona’s decision to let go of Suarez comes back to bite them
Barcelona have now gone two successive seasons without winning La Liga. Even more embarrassing was the fact that they went into the final day of the season not among the main contenders.
The Blaugrana allowed Suarez to join Atletico for free last summer and the decision has come back to bite them, with the Uruguayan going on to enjoy a successful season at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Only Lionel Messi scored more goals than Suarez in the just-concluded season and it’s obvious that allowing him to join Atletico strengthened their rivals to mount a title charge.
"It's tough. The situation I had to live through, the way I was looked down on, but Atletico opened the door for me," Suarez said after winning La Liga, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"A lot of people have suffered with me - my wife, my children. Day by day, they are the ones who have suffered the most from my many years in football.
"We've had a great year. Despite the difficulties, we were the most consistent team and we're the champions.”
Barcelona’s loss has become Atletico Madrid’s gain, and the Catalans must ensure that a similar transfer blunder does not happen again.
