Atletico Madrid kept their La Liga title hopes alive with a 4-2 comeback win over bottom-of-the-table Real Valladolid on a rainy Monday night at the Metropolitano, with Julian Alvarez scoring twice from the penalty spot in a dramatic encounter.
Diego Simeone’s men, currently third in the table, moved to 63 points—just three behind arch-rivals Real Madrid and seven off leaders Barcelona—keeping them firmly in the title chase. Meanwhile, Valladolid’s woes deepened as they suffered their fifth straight defeat, leaving them stranded on 16 points, 14 away from safety with only seven matches remaining.
The visitors took a surprise lead in the 21st minute when Mamadou Sylla coolly slotted home a penalty, awarded after a VAR review spotted a handball by Clement Lenglet. However, the advantage didn’t last long. Just four minutes later, another VAR decision awarded Atletico a spot-kick after Javi Sanchez fouled Giuliano Simeone in the box. Alvarez stepped up to level the score.
Atletico quickly turned the game around, with Giuliano Simeone getting on the scoresheet himself in the 27th minute, finishing off a well-worked move to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. But Valladolid refused to go quietly and stunned the home side again early in the second half. A deflected free-kick from Javi Sanchez wrong-footed Jan Oblak and made it 2-2 in the 56th minute.
Atletico pushed forward with renewed urgency and were rewarded in the 71st minute when Alvarez converted his second penalty of the night, this time after Henrique brought down Marcos Llorente in the area. Alvarez came close to a hat-trick shortly afterward, forcing a save from Andre Ferreira, but the rebound fell kindly to substitute Alexander Sorloth, who tapped in from close range to seal the victory for the hosts.
