The 16th round of the 2025/26 La Liga season continued, with Atletico Madrid defeating Valencia 2-1 at home. With this victory, they currently sit fourth in the league with 34 points (10 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses), but remain 9 points behind league leaders Barcelona.

Less than a minute into the game, Hugo Duro capitalized on a misplaced pass in Atletico Madrid's own half, intercepting the ball and chipping a shot that struck the crossbar. Atletico Madrid thus escaped a close call and gradually took control of the game. In the 13th minute, Pablo Barrios played a through ball from midfield, and Alexandre Thelot's shot was saved by Julen Asirezavara.

In the 17th minute, Atletico Madrid's corner kick caused chaos in the Valencia penalty area, and Matteo Ruggeri's shot was saved by Asirezavara. Koke quickly followed up and scored on the rebound, giving Atletico Madrid a 1-0 lead. However, they almost conceded an equalizer before halftime: in the 31st minute, José Copetet passed the ball back from the front of the goal, and Pepelou, unmarked, fired a shot into the net. After VAR review, the goal was ultimately disallowed because Duro, who was involved in the attack, was offside.

After that, the game returned to Atletico Madrid's control. In the 37th minute, Julian Alvarez provided an assist with his shoulder, and Thelott dribbled past Herre Koumat before unleashing a shot that was saved by Asirezavara. At halftime, Atletico Madrid still led 1-0.

After the break, the game took a dramatic turn. In the 63rd minute, Lucas Beltrán unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box to level the score at 1-1. However, Atlético Madrid regained the lead in the 74th minute: Marc Puvilli's long pass from midfield found Antoine Griezmann in the box, who controlled the ball and fired a shot. In the 78th minute, Thabo Selot broke into the box unmarked and fired a shot into the net, but VAR ruled him offside.

Neither side managed to score again. At the final whistle, Atletico Madrid ended their three-game winless streak with this victory.