Atletico Madrid 1-0 Deportivo: Alvarez ends LaLiga goal drought

Julian Alvarez ended his goal drought in LaLiga as Atletico Madrid defeated Deportivo A Coruna 1-0 at Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

The Argentina international's strike early in the second half was enough for Diego Simeone's side to secure a sixth consecutive victory in the competition, moving them two points behind leaders Barcelona ahead of Sunday's Clasico.

Deportivo put Jan Oblak under some early pressure, with the Atleti goalkeeper keeping out Miguel Loureiro's header in the sixth minute, while Alvarez and Pablo Barrios failed to trouble Leo Roman at the other end with their shots.

The best chance in the first half was created by Deportivo, but after Oblak spilt Yeremay Hernandez's initial effort, the shot-stopper reacted quickly to deny Lorenzo Amatucci on the rebound with his feet.

Atleti made the most of that reprieve as they took the lead in the 48th minute. Alejandro Grimaldo burst into the left side of the box and drilled a low cross into the six-yard box, with Alvarez able to finish on the stretch.

Giuliano Simeone could not get enough power behind his header to beat Roman, but Deportivo saw a huge chance go begging as Kevin Sanchez shot straight at Oblak from four yards out with the final kick of the game.

Alvarez back to his best?

After assisting Atleti's winner against Espanyol last time out in LaLiga, Alvarez also scored their only goal in a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart in the Champions League during the week.

His strike against Stuttgart was his first for the club this season, while his goal against Deportivo was his first in LaLiga since February 28, when he netted the winner against Real Oviedo.

It is also the first time he has scored in back-to-back games since finding the back of the net in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad and in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal in the Champions League last season.

The forward is still getting back to his best after a turbulent summer, during which he publicly pushed for a move to LaLiga rivals Barcelona, but he is slowly working his way back into the good books of the Atleti faithful.

In this match, he recorded more shots than any Atleti player (three), while also creating the most chances (five) and completing three of his five dribbles - a tally only bettered by Lee Kang-in.

Simeone would have hoped for a stronger team performance, with Atleti losing the expected goals (xG) battle 1.36 to 1.95, but he cannot complain with six league wins on the bounce.