MADRID (Reuters) – Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo Riquelme and Alvaro Morata secured a 2-1 victory at home against Alaves in LaLiga on Sunday, propelling their team to third place.
Atleti, positioned one game behind their title contenders, currently hold 25 points, three points behind the leaders Real Madrid and second-placed Girona, and one point ahead of Barcelona in fourth.
Riquelme seized the lead for Atletico in the 26th minute, finding the net from close range after receiving a cross from Alvaro Morata. Morata himself increased the lead with a solo effort just before halftime.
Alaves midfielder Ander Guevara managed to reduce the deficit in added time at the end of the match, scoring a low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner.
Atletico’s victory marked their 14th consecutive win in LaLiga home games, a feat that matches their record achieved at the old Vicente Calderon stadium between May 2012 and February 2013.
Furthermore, they equaled Manchester City’s tally of 72 goals in 2023, placing them only behind Borussia Dortmund (78) and Bayern Munich (77) among teams in Europe’s top five leagues.
Reporting from Gdansk, Anita Kobylinska; Editing by Ken Ferris.
