Real Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Alvarez tap-in secures fourth straight win for visitors

Julian Alvarez was the man of the moment for Atletico Madrid, with his tap-in securing a 1-0 victory away to Real Mallorca in LaLiga on Sunday.

It was a seventh goal in all competitions for the 24-year-old this season and, in truth, was one of few highlights in an off-colour performance from Diego Simeone’s side.

Nevertheless, the victory was Atleti’s fourth in a row in all competitions and they moved up to third in the table – one point behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven behind leaders Barcelona.

Both sides struggled to make an impact in attack during the game, with neither registering high xGs (Mallorca 0.58 – 0.62 Atletico Madrid).

The goal itself came from a second-half counter from the visitors, started when Giuliano Simeone took down a long pass from goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Simeone, in turn, then laid the ball across for Alvarez with the simplest of finishes into an open goal.

The defeat leaves Mallorca eighth in the table, two points below the top six.

7 – Julián Álvarez has scored seven goals in 18 appearances for Atlético de Madrid in all competitions, the highest tally by a player in his first 18 games for the club since Luis Suárez in 2021 (11 goals).

Spider. pic.twitter.com/ILBTbq4oeM

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 10, 2024

Data debrief: Defences on top again in Atleti game

Atletico Madrid kept their seventh LaLiga clean sheet in this match, with Oblak having been in goal for six of those.

They also have the best-performing defence in the league, having conceded just seven goals in seven matches.

It was perhaps inevitable that this game would be a low-scoring affair, with Mallorca having conceded the equal second-fewest number of goals (10).