He Atlético de Madrid sand won 2-1 in the Alavés field this Saturday on the eighth round of LaLiga, in a match conditioned by the expulsion of local attacker Ángel Pérez (61′).
The rojiblancos went ahead with a goal Alejandro Grimaldo (33′), but Lucas Boyé equalized from a penalty (45+6′) and Christian Romero made it 2-1 (87′) final.
“We played a great game,” ‘Cuti’ Romero said after the match to Movistar+, according to AFP.
The victory in Mendizorroza keeps Atlético provisionally in second position in the standings, two points behind the leader, FC Barcelona, before hosting Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday.
It was difficult for Atlético to enter the game against a very vertical Alavés, who went up a lot on the wings.
The red and whites gradually gained control of the ball and, after a dangerous shot by Jonathan David from the edge of the area (14′), Grimaldo scored.
The world champion created a wall with Jonathan David in the area to arrive and unleash an unstoppable shot (33′).
Alavés did not lose face of the game and on the edge of half-time the local reaction came.
Ángel Pérez took a shot that tested Jan Oblak (44′), before a grab by Robin Le Normand on Toni Martínez in the area was awarded a penalty.
Lucas Boyé was in charge of converting the maximum penalty (45+6′) to send the match to half-time with the tie.
Atlético accelerates
Atlético gave one more point of aggressiveness to its game after the break with the entry of Julián Álvarez and Álex Baena.
The Argentine was the victim of a harsh tackle by Ángel Pérez, which ended with the expulsion of the Alavés player after a VAR review (61′).
Julián, who seems to have definitively left everything that happened in the summer behind with his failed signing for Barça, was very active, but was unable to find the goal.
With one more, Atlético turned on the Alavés goal, who tried to stop the red and whites with two lines of four very close together and trust their offensive options to possible counterattacks.
Mariano almost gave Atlético a scare in a counterattack that culminated with a high shot (84′).
The red and white reply came just three minutes later, when Baena put a cross to the far post where ‘Cuti’ Romero appeared to make the final 2-1 with a header (87′).
“We have to continue growing, we have to continue improving, we are good, but we always have to go for more,” Romero said after the match.
In the following games on Saturday, FC Barcelona hosts Getafe, while Real Madrid will close the day against Villarreal.
The match between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club was suspended in the 13th minute of the first half due to the throwing of objects onto the field by Rayo fans in protest against the management of its president Raúl Martín Presa.
