Atlético Madrid faced Alavés in the Primera División regular season on Saturday, and the hosts claimed a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a stoppage-time goal. The result keeps both sides level on three points after two rounds, though the table positions remain unchanged.
Alavés had a chance to take the lead early when F. Iannuzzi stepped up for a penalty in the fifteenth minute, only to see it saved. That miss proved costly, and Atlético pressed forward, controlling 72 per cent of possession without adding to their advantage. The visitors weathered the storm, making three changes at half-time to steady things.
By then the match had settled into a rhythm, with Atlético dominating territory but struggling to convert. There were six yellow cards between the two sides — three apiece — and a series of substitutions as both managers looked for a breakthrough. H. Ait El Haj and K. Z. Brima came on for Alavés in the fifty-eighth minute, while Atlético brought on H. Csiszar and A. Guallar around the hour mark.
It was only in the dying moments that the deadlock broke. S. Jensen fired home in the ninety-first minute, ending a barren spell for the hosts. Alavés made one final change, bringing on Alexia in the ninety-sixth, but there was nothing more to come.
The statistics tell the story of a one-sided afternoon. Atlético registered eight shots on target to Alavés' two, and their accuracy rate stood at 40 per cent compared with 22. Yet the visitors' goalkeeper made six saves to keep them in the game, and the hosts had seven attempts off target to account for.
Both sides remain on three points after two fixtures. Atlético sit eighth while Alavés occupy sixth, but the gap between them is negligible. What matters now is whether the late winner gives the hosts momentum, or if this was simply another hard-fought draw in the making.
