It is of course frightening when a Norwegian Viking, 195 cm tall, comes running towards you at high speed with goals in his eyes. – That was exactly what the defenders of Rayo Vallecano had to deal with in Thursday’s city derby against Atlético Madrid.
Alexander Sørloth was all over the place in the minutes he was allowed to play. We notice that manager Diego Simeone is giving the Norwegian striker more playing time and more often from the start. – It paid off after just three minutes.
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Atlético Madrid won 3-0 over Rayo Vallecano at the Estádio Cívitas Metropolitano and with that cemented 3rd place in La Liga. They are now six points down on fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao who Manchester United face in the Europa League semi-finals and six points up on Real Madrid. It was Sørloth’s 13th league goal this season, which brings him up to 8th place on La Liga’s top scorers list.
Already after three minutes, Sørloth put Atlético in the lead. He was also instrumental in the 2-0 goal and created several dangerous situations for the opponents. Rayo Vallecano’s defense had great difficulty dealing with his strength and precision.
Strong start
Atlético played elegantly from behind, and Marcos Llorente sent Giuliano Simeone down the right wing. Sørloth placed at the long post headed the cross safely into the goal. Rayo’s Florian Lejeune tried to defend, but had little to do with it.
Shortly after, another big chance came when Javi Galán found Sørloth’s head inside the box. He won the duel against Pathé Ciss, but nodded just over.
More good opportunities
In the 8th minute, Sørloth got a nice through ball from Julián Álvarez, ran past Lejeune and fired a hard shot. Goalkeeper Auguste Batalla made a good save and knocked the ball to the corner.
Rayo Vallecano also had a few attacks, but Jan Oblak showed why he is one of the world’s best goalkeepers when he saved a good shot from Isi Palazón.
Sørloth got another opportunity when Galán again sent in a precise cross. This time he hit the ball a little unlucky, and it went to the ground before it bounced out.
Decisive contribution to 2-0
Just before half-time, Atlético made it 2-0, and Sørloth played an important role without touching the ball. He dragged Lejeune with him and created space for Conor Gallagher, who nodded the ball undisturbed into the goal.
In the second half, Sørloth was substituted (61 minutes) after a solid effort, and Atlético secured the victory 3-0 after a goal by Álvarez, assisted by Antoine Griezmann. Due to “little” but increasing playing time, his key trick is even more impressive. In terms of goals per 90 minutes of play, he is a hair’s breadth behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski: 0.88 to 0.92.
With this victory, Atlético Madrid strengthened their grip on third place in La Liga. The team is six points ahead of Athletic Bilbao with five games left.
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Before the match, Pope Francis, who died on Monday, was honored with a memorial service where the players stood around the center circle.
