Sparta Prague 0-6 Atletico Madrid: Alvarez and Correa at the double as Atleti thrash hosts
Julian Alvarez (24) and Angel Correa (29) each netted two goals as Atlético Madrid convincingly defeated AC Sparta Prague 6-0, marking the Spanish team's third victory (L2) in the league stage of the UEFA Champions League (UCL).
This win also signifies Atlético's sixth consecutive triumph across all competitions, representing their best performance since October 2023.
Sparta, having accumulated four points in the tournament prior to this match, managed to register a shot on target within the first minute. However, that was the extent of their success in the first half, as Atlético took the lead in spectacular fashion at the 15-minute mark.
Alvarez was fouled just outside the penalty area by Tomas Wiesner, prompting the former Manchester City player to take a free-kick that curled beautifully over the wall and into the right corner of Peter Vindahl Jensen's goal.
Wiesner later made a crucial intervention to prevent Alvarez from increasing his tally, but by this stage, Atlético was firmly in control. Sparta's situation worsened when a visibly distressed Lukáš Haraslín had to leave the field due to injury.
In the 37th minute, it should have been 2-0 as Alvarez capitalized on a misplaced crossfield pass, racing forward and passing to Alexander Sorloth, who created space for a shot but was superbly denied by Vindahl Jensen.
The second goal finally came before the half-time whistle when, after Atlético regained possession following a corner, Llorente's cross, intended for Sørloth, went directly into the net as Sorloth cleverly refrained from touching the ball, allowing it to drift in.
Sparta needed to elevate their performance in the second half to have any chance of salvaging the match. However, just moments after Antoine Griezmann replaced Sorloth, his backheel pass set Alvarez on a dynamic run, enabling him to exchange passes with Giuliano Simeone before calmly finishing past the advancing Vindahl Jensen.
As the contest neared its conclusion, Griezmann contributed to the scoreline with a goal from 15 yards in the 70th minute. Shortly thereafter, Koke made his entrance onto the pitch, marking his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, while fellow substitutes Correa and Samuel Lino collaborated to extend the lead to five.
In the 89th minute, Correa capitalized on yet another poor defensive display from Sparta, finalizing the score.
It is concerning that Sparta has managed to secure only two victories in their last 12 matches across all competitions (D3, L7) as they aim to revive their faltering domestic title pursuit against FK Dukla Prague on Saturday.
Conversely, Atlético Madrid will be optimistic about achieving their seventh consecutive win on the same day as they face the bottom-placed Real Valladolid in LaLiga.
SportsLigue