One would think that Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has now soon learned that he is dependent on the Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth. – At Philips Stadion, he sensibly chose to start with Sørloth against PSV Eindhoven. “That allowed them to bring home a three-pointer and possibly that the temptation from Newcastle was a little less.
What the Newcastle scouts saw was that Sørloth was central to Atlético’s turnaround.
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Newcastle are said to be willing to pay €60 million to bring Alexander Sorloth to the Premier League, a sum that manager Diego Simeone would like to collect and spend on new player acquisitions.
Scored his first CL goal in five years!
Alexander Sørloth contributed with both a goal and an assist as Atlético Madrid turned around to a 3-2 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
The Trønder netted after just under 60 minutes when he placed a cross in the opposite corner. The goal was Sørloth’s first Champions League goal for Atlético, and only his second overall in the tournament – his last coming for RB Leipzig in December 2020.
The match in the Netherlands started badly for Atlético. Guus Til put PSV in the lead early on against the highly-ranked away team, and shortly after it could have been even worse. A ball loss from Sørloth led to a dangerous counterattack for PSV.
But the international made amends when he played free Julián Álvarez for the 1-1 goal, after weak free play from the PSV defence.
Seven minutes into the second half, Atlético took the lead after David Hancko was quickest on a rebound from PSV’s goalkeeper.
Ricardo Pepi reduced it to 2-1 for PSV in the closing minutes and ignited hope, but Atlético held on to victory.
Sørloth was substituted a quarter of an hour before the end. Under Diego Simeone, the 30-year-old often has to settle for a place on the bench from the start, but has shown his usefulness in recent weeks. Recently, he scored two goals in La Liga.
With the win, Atlético Madrid secured twelve points in the group stage and are currently among the top eight teams that go directly to the last eight.
At the end of January, Bodø/Glimt awaits as an opponent in Madrid in the last round before the knockout phase.
Alexander Sørloth’s career in brief:
- Started his career at Rosenborg (2015–2016)
- Played for Groningen, FC Midtjylland and Gent before moving to Crystal Palace in 2018
- After loan spells at Ghent and Trabzonspor, he signed for RB Leipzig in 2020
- Loaned to Real Sociedad (2021–2022) and later to Villarreal
- Went to Red Star Belgrade in 2023, before signing for Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2024
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