Atlético de Madrid took the three points at the Mendizorroza stadium by beating Deportivo Alavés 2-1 on matchday eight of LaLiga. The winning goal came in the 88th minute when Cuti Romero, with his first goal for the club, took advantage of an assist from Alex Baena to beat the Alavés goalkeeper and put the red and whites ahead.
The match began with a dominant Atlético, but Alavés managed to tie in the first half thanks to a penalty converted by Lucas Boyé after a foul by LeNormand on Toni Martínez. Despite the expulsion of Ángel Pérez in the 62nd minute for a violent challenge on Julián Álvarez, the Basque team maintained the pressure and, after the substitution of Quique Sánchez Flores in a 4-4-1, scored the winning goal in the second half. The expulsion reduced Alavés to ten players, but the team managed to maintain possession and the pace of play during the final minutes.
Atlético, with 68% possession compared to Alavés' 32%, shot 22 times on goal, of which 7 reached the goal zone. Alavés, for its part, took 8 total shots with 3 aimed at the goal. Regarding discipline, Atlético received three yellow cards, while Alavés obtained only one. The difference in quality was reflected in the 10 corners and 11 fouls committed by the visitors compared to 8 and 7 by the Vitoria team.
With this victory, Atlético de Madrid consolidates its fourth consecutive victory and maintains the pressure on Barcelona, while Alavés faces its third defeat in the last four games and still has not achieved a victory since matchday 4. The result leaves Atlético at the top of the table, with 25 points after seven games, and Alavés in the relegation zone, with 11 points after seven games. The next challenge for Atlético will be their home game against Real Madrid, while Alavés will have to look for a comeback against Sevilla in their next match.