Antoine Griezmann scored a late penalty to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 LaLiga home win over Real Sociedad on Sunday, in a match in which VAR was again under the spotlight following two contentious handball decisions.

The hosts dominated from the start and Samuel Lino opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a tidy finish from close range.

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Atletico missed several chances, including two strikes off the post, one by Rodrigo de Paul and Axel Witsel from point-blank range, but Sociedad slowly started to take control of the match and almost scored when Mikel Oyarzabal’s shot hit Jan Oblak‘s left upright.

In the 67th minute, referee Munuera Montero spent several minutes in a lengthy VAR check for a possible handball inside the box, but decided there had been no infringement.

The visitors equalised through Oyarzabal following a 73rd-minute counter-attack and Oblak made two crucial saves to prevent them from taking the lead.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

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Atletico were given a golden opportunity to win the game when the referee spotted a handball by Sociedad’s Carlos Fernandez in the 86th minute, and Griezmann slotted home the penalty to earn his side the three points.

The Sociedad players and coach Imanol Aguacil were furious, complaining vociferously to referee Munuera Montero as Fernandez had his back to the play when Griezmann’s shot hit his arm.

“When the referee decides, in the end it’s going to be complicated, but football continues,” Griezmann told DAZN.

“You have to set rules and not leave it to the referee’s interpretation. Today he whistled in our favour and we won. It won’t always be like that.

“Sometimes the referee sees it clearly and sometimes he does not. Maybe the referee has slept badly and doesn’t feel like interpreting right or wrong. You have to set rules.”

Atletico, who have a game in hand, moved up to 19 points from eight games and are fourth in the standings, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.