Atlético Madrid 1-0 Deportivo: Álvarez Strikes After the Break to Go Second
Julián Álvarez scored two minutes into the second half as Atlético won a fifth straight league game and moved to 25 points.
Julián Álvarez scored in the 48th minute as Atlético Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruña 1-0 at the Metropolitano on Saturday, 24 October, extending their winning run in LaLiga to five matches and lifting them to second in the table.
A first half Deportivo could be happy with
The opening 45 minutes finished goalless. Anadolu Agency reports that Deportivo organised themselves well and frustrated an Atlético side it described as fatigued after midweek fixtures. A match report carried by Yahoo Sports cites underlying numbers that show the visitors had the better of the first half: expected goals of 1.73 to Atlético's 1.49, five shots on target to four, and ten of their 15 attempts from inside the area. Marc Pubill was the only player booked before the break.
The breakthrough
Anadolu says Diego Simeone made adjustments at half-time and the goal followed two minutes after the restart, scored by Álvarez. The sources reviewed do not describe how the chance was created, so Torch will not guess at it. Yahoo's report credits Álvarez with four shots and five chances created, and gives him the highest rating on the pitch. It also credits Jan Oblak with five saves.
Deportivo pushed for an equaliser without converting, and Anadolu notes the visitors had a late attempt on the final kick that did not go in. The closing stages were scrappy: Yahoo's report counts six yellow cards in total, four to the home side, with Alexander Sørloth, Álex Baena and Giuliano Simeone booked in three minutes between the 85th and 87th.
What it means
Atlético have 25 points after ten rounds, two behind Barcelona, who have played a game fewer, with Real Madrid third on 21. It is their fifth straight league win, and the report says they are unbeaten in six matches in all competitions, the only dropped points in that run being a 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart. The result also continues a pattern: Atlético have now beaten Deportivo 1-0 in each of their last four meetings, including a Copa del Rey tie in A Coruña in January.
For Antonio Hidalgo's Deportivo, the defeat leaves them tenth on 11 points with a goal difference of zero and no win in six matches in all competitions. They next travel to Auriense in the Copa del Rey on Thursday 29 October. Atlético visit Levante on Saturday 31 October.