Alexander Sørloth came off the bench to score with a header late in the second half and give Atlético Madrid a hard-fought 1-0 win over Getafe in LaLiga on Sunday, their 11th consecutive triumph in all competitions.
Atlético are now level with Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga standings on 38 points from 17 matches, moving above Real Madrid who are third on 37. Barcelona host lowly Leganes later on Sunday.
Atlético, who have won all their games since late October, had to dig deep to break the deadlock and their winner came in a collaboration between two substitutes in the 69th minute.
Full-back Nahuel Molina lifted a long cross from the right touchline which found the unmarked Sørloth, whose header at the far post beat goalkeeper David Soria.
Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images
After constantly rotating his selection and trying different formations over the first few months of the season, Atlético manager Diego Simeone seems to have finally found the starting line-up he is most comfortable with.
He sent out the 11 players who easily beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Antoine Griezmann and Julián Álvarez up front and two four-man lines in midfield and defence instead of the conservative five-man defensive line he has been known for in more than a decade in Madrid.
The hosts dominated from the start, with winger Samuel Lino wasting a couple of great chances to open the scoring in the 12th and 15th minutes, going just wide with close-range volleys from crosses by Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul.
Alvarez, De Paul and Giuliano Simeone also missed chances in the first half.
Missing a spark up-front, Simeone decided to bring Norwegian Sørloth off the bench after the break in place of Lino, moving Alvarez to the left wing. His side kept pressing but missed too many chances and often got exposed to counter-attacks.
However, they finally got the winner thanks to a fine cross by substitute Molina who found Sørloth in a great position and secured three valuable points for Atlético as they prepare to face leaders Barcelona next Saturday.
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