Johnny Cardoso made his second start of the New Year for Atletico Madrid as they held on for a win over Alaves.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Alaves
A second-half goal was all Atletico Madrid needed as they came away with all three points over Alaves at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Johnny Cardoso started and played 78 minutes for Los Rojiblancos, completing 93 percent passing, winning four duels, three recoveries, and two tackles.
There was not much going on in the first half, but the hosts had an excellent chance in stoppage time when Julian Alvarez’s cross from the left side of the 18-yard box found Thiago Almada, whose shot was blocked by an Alaves defender in front of the goal.
Alexander Sorloth broke the deadlock for Atletico within minutes of the second half when he was on the spot to head in a cross from Pablo Barrios.
Atletico sits in fourth place in the standings with 41 points.
Note
Pellegrino Matarazzo had a big weekend as he guided Real Sociedad to a 2-1 win over La Liga leaders Barcelona. The win snapped the Catalans’ 11-game winning streak.
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