Vigo: Julian Alvarez Scored the winning goal in the 90th minute atletico madrid Earned them a 1-0 victory celta vigo Thursday at alliance.
Even a point would have pleased Diego Simeone’s side, but they took all three points when the substitute Argentina international finished off Antoine Griezmann’s cross at the back post.
Celta have the better chance as third-placed Atletico lacks spark ahead of Sunday’s derby against Spanish champions Real Madrid.
“Our attacking performance was not good in the first half,” Simeone told DAZN. “The substitutes give us more creativity and allow us to win games.”
Simeone gave his son Giuliano his first start after coming off the bench in recent weeks and kept summer signing Alvarez on the bench.
Atletico’s quality was low in the first half, with not a single shot on target, while Celta posed a serious threat on the eve of the break when Jan Oblak converted Iago Aspas’ strike A wonderful save.
In the 57th minute, Slovenia goalkeeper Borja Iglesias made another excellent save from a close-range header to help Atletico equalize the score.
However, Atletico secured victory when substitute Alvarez, the former Manchester City striker, stayed sharp to convert Griezmann’s deep cross.
“(Scoring) helps with confidence and always helps the team … those are three things,” Alvarez said. “We knew it was going to be a difficult game and Celta Vigo performed well at home. We improved bit by bit in the game and we created some chances in the second half.”
Earlier, Ayoze Perez scored twice to help Villarreal beat Espanyol 2-1 and move into fourth place.
With six goals Spain The national team player is just one goal behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski in the goalscoring charts.
Home fans were furious at referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez’s lenient approach, with one fan throwing a plastic cup, hitting the referee as he walked off the pitch.
Real Betis only drew 1-1 with Las Palmas, who are at the bottom of the standings.
Barcelona leads the league after beating Getafe 1-0 on Wednesday, while Real Madrid are second after beating Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday.
