Atletico Madrid 1-0 Osasuna: Alvarez sends Simeone´s side to LaLiga summit

Julian Alvarez’s second-half strike sent Atletico Madrid to the LaLiga summit after they narrowly beat Osasuna at the Metropolitano on Sunday.

Atletico have now won a club-record 14 consecutive games across all competitions, while Osasuna are now seven league games without a triumph.

The first half saw clear-cut chances hard to come by for either side, with Alvarez registering all three of his side’s shots on target in the first 45 minutes.

And it would be the Argentine who put Diego Simeone’s side ahead in the 55th minute, netting his 13th goal across all competitions this season for Atletico.

A short corner routine saw Antoine Griezmann pick out Clement Lenglet at the back post, with the French defender steering the ball into Alvarez’s path to finish.

It took the hosts until the 90th minute to register their next shot on target, but Angel Correa saw his strike comfortably saved by visiting goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

The result saw Atletico leapfrog rivals Real Madrid in the table, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side in action against Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana later on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Argentine connection has Atleti purring

Simeone has already overseen two LaLiga title successes with Atletico – most recently in 2020-21 – and he will be confident of replicating that success from four years ago this season.

Los Rojiblancos have been known for being defensively solid under Simeone, but they have found that clinical edge in attack, having found the back of the net in their last eight LaLiga fixtures.

And they have been helped by the excellent Argentine contingent within their ranks, none more so than Alvarez, who has proved his worth since his move from Manchester City.

Simeone named four Argentinians in Atletico’s starting line-up in LaLiga (Nahuel Molina, Rodrigo De Paul, Giuliano Simeone and Alvarez) for the first time since February 2006 (Leo Franco, Galletti, Ibagaza and Maxi Rodríguez against Real Sociedad).