Los Colchoneros showed intent in the early stages with Julian Alvarez seeing a shot deflected behind by Arnau Martinez and Nico Gonzalez working space but firing over in the opening nine minutes.
They didn’t have to wait too much longer for the opener, as an unconvincing touch from Martinez diverted the ball into Koke’s pass and the Atleti captain fired a superb strike from range into the top corner.
Girona initially responded well to going behind, and while Vladyslav Vanat’s attempt was tame, Axel Witsel’s instinctive shot brought a brilliant save out of his former teammate Jan Oblak.
There was still a blow for the visitors shortly before the half-hour mark as Gonzalez pulled up with a hamstring injury. His replacement, Conor Gallagher, missed an opportunity shortly after his introduction following good play from Alexander Sorloth.
Undeterred, he played a part in Los Colchoneros’ second in the 38th minute, with his shot taking a deflection off Vitor Reis that wrongfooted Paulo Gazzaniga and diverted the ball into the bottom corner. Gallagher kept getting in positive positions but saw his latest shot saved before the break.
The visitors continued to move the ball well after the restart and created some opportunities, with Sorloth seeing a header saved and Koke guiding his effort wide from outside the box.
Sorloth then hit a shot that was blocked by Daley Blind as the Blanquivermells sat deep and at least ensured their deficit didn’t grow, but the hosts did very little to offer a threat going the other way for much of the half.
When Alex Moreno was eventually played through by Blind in the 73rd minute, Oblak smothered the left-back to ensure Atleti kept their clean sheet.
Moments before the end, Antoine Griezmann linked up brilliantly with fellow substitute Giacomo Raspadori and picked out the bottom corner.
That moment nicely capped off Atleti’s fourth consecutive win across all competitions, which takes them third in La Liga ahead of Villarreal’s match against Barcelona.
In contrast, Girona suffered the third defeat from their last four competitive fixtures and end 2025 in the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid)
