Atlético Madrileño's chances of promotion to LaLiga Hypermotion ended in the semifinals. An early opener from Ponferradina in Alcalá (7') netted by Keita, was the only and decisive goal in a high-intensity tie. The Red-and-white squad fought until the very last breath for the equaliser that would have secured qualification after the stalemate grabbed in the first leg, achieved with ten men on the pitch. This marks the end of a memorable 2026/27 season for the Atlético reserve team.

After the game, coach Fernando Torres recognized the elimination as “a great disappointment for us as a team, the players feel it that way. When you lose a tie for such an ambitious season target, there is always pain behind. You can't blame anything. The lads have tried, the team in the first game recovered from a very tough situation of playing against 11 players for more than an hour, and they did it wonderfully. The second leg was conditioned by that early goal against, and from then on, we haven't found a way to score. But, as I said, nothing to regret. It is an excellent group that has had a very good year. I think that on an individual level, they have all grown, and they are all going to have situations that in the future will give them that feeling that they can do more and that they want more, and I hope it will be here at our club.”

La valoración de Fernando @Torres tras el duelo en Alcalá. pic.twitter.com/37n6QZfVP2

— Atleti Academia (@AtletiAcademia) June 6, 2026

Once again, the Alcalá stadium was packed to capacity as the Red-and-white fans lived the match with intensity and cheered their team on until the final whistle: “Today is a tough, difficult day. I want to thank the fans once again for filling Alcalá and for their incredible support of Atlético Madrileño. It's something we haven't seen in a while, and we feel we were able to give them what they came for. So now it's time to reflect, to think, to recharge, and to consider how we can improve.”

Finally, Torres looks ahead to next season with the ambition of improving on what has been a season of progress: “It's not enough, and you always have to want to improve and be better than the previous year. I think we've taken a leap forward compared to last season in many ways, but it hasn't been enough. And what we want is to find those areas, those situations to improve, so we can come back stronger than ever.”

-  Match stats:

Atlético Madrileño: Esquivel, Julio Díaz (Morcillo 76’), J. Boñar, D. Martínez, Javi Serrano (Corral 67’), Llorente, Rayane (Castillo 46’), Puric (Esteban 88’), Bellotti (Koke 63’), Arnau Ortiz, Cubo.

SD Ponferradina: Prieto, Ger Novoa (Andújar 62’), Undabarrena, San Emeterio (Jorrín 76’), Calderón (Mfulu 76’), Borja Valle M., Koke, Keita (Cortes 62’), Borja Vázquez, A. López, Esquerdo (Xemi 19’)

Bookings: Gonzalo Romero booked Cubo (23’), Bellotti (51’), Puric 67’); San Emeterio (39’), Mfulu (82’).

Goals:

0-1  Keita (7’)

Semi-finals, second leg of the play-off for promotion to the Second Division, played at the Alcalá de Henares Sports Centre.