Atletico Madrid Battles for Hard-Earned Victory Against Valladolid as Alvarez Nets a Brace

Atletico Madrid overcame a few tense moments against bottom-placed Real Valladolid, securing a 4-2 victory at the Metropolitano Stadium in La Liga. This win marks their eighth consecutive home triumph against Valladolid in league encounters.

As anticipated, Atletico started strongly, with Pablo Barrios testing Andre Ferreira, who made a fine save, although Barrios missed the follow-up attempt by sending it just wide.

Shockingly, the home side found themselves trailing when Valladolid was awarded a penalty due to Clement Lenglet’s handball from a corner. Mamadou Sylla stepped up and sent Jan Oblak the wrong way, scoring his fourth penalty of the season – with eight of his last nine goals for the club scored before the hour mark.

Remarkably, just four minutes later, Atletico received a penalty of their own when Javi Sanchez stepped on Giuliano Simeone’s foot in the area. Julian Alvarez converted, hitting straight down the middle; Ferreira got a foot to it but could not prevent the equaliser.

Simeone then put Atletico ahead just two minutes afterwards, cutting in from the wing and unleashing a powerful left-footed shot into the net, quickly turning the match in their favour before half-time.

After conceding a goal from a penalty in the first half, Sanchez made amends early in the second half with a deflected free-kick that found its way into the net, levelling the match for Valladolid.

In response, Atletico made swift changes, but one of their substitutes, Alexander Sørloth, squandered a golden opportunity to restore the lead by glancing a header wide.

Incredibly, a third penalty was awarded to Diego Simeone’s side when Henrique fouled Marcos Llorente. Alvarez took charge once more, this time placing his effort into the bottom corner, again outwitting Ferreira.

Another substitute, Thomas Lemar, also made a rare appearance and nearly sealed the win for Atletico, only to be thwarted by Ferreira in a close-range effort.

However, moments later, Sørloth pounced on a rebound after Rodrigo Riquelme’s initial shot was parried away. This victory brings Atletico closer in the title race, reducing the gap to seven and three points behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, while Valladolid suffered their 11th consecutive away defeat, keeping them at the bottom of the league table.