Sublime Alvarez hat-trick lifts Atleti in thriller
Julian Alvarez's hat-trick secured a 3-2 win for Atletico Madrid against Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio Metropolitano.
Diego Simeone backed his Argentina forward to bounce back from his penalty miss last time out, and Alvarez did exactly that, scoring the winner with a thunderous strike from outside the box in the 88th minute.
Alvarez scored his first early on, volleying home with his weaker left foot from Marcos Llorente's cross, but Vallecano fired back with an even better strike as Pep Chavarria fired a rocket from close to 30 yards out to beat Jan Oblak.
The visitor thought it scored a potential winner after 77 minutes, with Alvaro Garcia finding the back of the net against the run of play, but Alvarez was not willing to drop points in another LaLiga match.
The 25 year-old quickly equalised for Atleti, reacting first to a rebound after Augusto Batalla made an incredible initial save to deny Giuliano Simeone's header, and Alvarez then sent the home fans into rapture with his brilliant winner.
