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Atletico Madrid cruised to a convincing 3-0 home win over LaLiga’s bottom side Valencia on Sunday, with Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez scoring their first goals for the club.
Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino went close in the first half before Atletico took the lead in the 39th minute, new signing Gallagher finishing into the bottom corner after latching onto a delightful pass from Rodrigo De Paul.
Valencia fought hard for an equaliser, with Javi Guerra’s long-range effort going wide, but they were unable to prevent Antoine Griezmann from making it 2-0 after Lino’s header fell into his path nine minutes after the break.
Another new recruit, Alvarez, put the icing on the cake with his first goal in the Spanish top flight since arriving from Manchester City, when he slotted home Rodrigo Riquelme’s cross in the 93rd minute.
Atletico, who are still unbeaten this season, moved into second place, level on 11 points with Real Madrid and four behind leaders Barcelona.
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) September 15, 2024
Data Debrief: New boys off the mark
Gallagher’s opener made him the third-youngest Englishman to net in LaLiga this century, at the age of 24 years and 222 days.
Only Jude Bellingham (20 years and 44 days) and Mason Greenwood (22 years, seven days), both in 2023, have done so at a younger age.
He wasn’t the only new recruit to impress on Sunday, though.
Alvarez’s goal made him the 14th Argentinian player to score for Atleti since the turn of the century, with no other foreign nation supplying as many unique goalscorers for Los Colchoneros in that time.
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