Atlético Madrid made it eight home wins in a row against Real Valladolid in La Liga, but not without a few nervy moments, eventually winning 4-2 at the Metropolitano.
As expected, Atlético started strongly, with Pablo Barrios forcing a good save from André Ferreira before firing the rebound just wide. But the home crowd was stunned when Valladolid were awarded a penalty after Clément Lenglet handled the ball from a corner. Mamadou Sylla calmly sent Jan Oblak the wrong way to give the visitors a surprise lead – eight of his last nine goals have come before the 60th minute.
Just four minutes later, Atlético were awarded a penalty of their own when Javi Sánchez stepped on Giuliano Simeone’s foot in the box. Julián Alvarez took it and fired down the middle to level the score – Ferreira got a touch but couldn’t keep it out. Two minutes after that, Simeone scored himself with a sharp left-footed finish after cutting inside, completing a quick turnaround before half-time.
Early in the second half, Sánchez made up for his earlier mistake, scoring with a deflected free-kick to bring Valladolid level again. Atlético made a few quick substitutions, and one of them, Alexander Sørloth, missed a big chance by heading wide.
Then, the third penalty of the match was given to Atlético when Henrique fouled Marcos Llorente. Alvarez stepped up again and confidently placed the ball into the bottom corner, sending Ferreira the wrong way for the second time.
Substitute Thomas Lemar almost sealed the win but was denied by Ferreira from close range. Minutes later though, Sørloth tapped in a rebound after Rodrigo Riquelme’s shot was saved, securing the three points.
The win keeps Atlético in the title race, now seven points behind Barcelona and just three behind Real Madrid. Valladolid’s poor form continues, with their 11th away defeat in a row leaving them bottom of the table.
