Atletico Madrid had to dig deep to secure a 4-2 victory over bottom-placed Real Valladolid at the Metropolitano, extending their home winning streak against the visitors to eight La Liga games.
The hosts started brightly, with Pablo Barrios testing Andre Ferreira early on, but it was Valladolid who stunned the crowd first.
A handball by Clement Lenglet gave Mamadou Sylla the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot, which he calmly converted—his eighth goal before the hour mark in his last nine club strikes.
Just four minutes later, Atletico were awarded a penalty of their own after Javi Sanchez clipped Giuliano Simeone in the box. Julian Alvarez stepped up and, despite Ferreira getting a touch, fired down the middle to level the score.
Momentum shifted quickly. Within two minutes, Simeone put Atletico ahead, cutting inside and rifling a left-footed strike into the net.
But Valladolid hit back after the break through Javi Sanchez, who made amends for conceding the earlier penalty with a deflected free-kick that left Jan Oblak flat-footed.
Atletico responded with several substitutions, but Alexander Sørloth missed a gilt-edged chance before the third penalty of the match was awarded—this time for a foul on Marcos Llorente. Alvarez kept his cool once more, slotting home his second of the night to restore the hosts’ lead.
Thomas Lemar nearly added a fourth, but it was Sørloth who eventually sealed the win, tapping in a rebound after Rodrigo Riquelme‘s shot was saved.
The win keeps Atletico in the title hunt, now just three points behind Real Madrid and seven off Barcelona. Valladolid, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table with their 11th straight away defeat.
