Julian Alvarez and Angel Correa starred as Atletico Madrid ran riot in a 6-0 defeat of Sparta Prague in the Champions League.
Alvarez and his Argentina compatriot Correa scored twice each on Tuesday, as Diego Simeone’s team made it three wins from five games in Europe this season.
Atleti went ahead in the 15th minute at the Letna Stadium when Alvarez curled in a free-kick from the edge of the box.
Marcos Llorente doubled the visitors’ advantage just before the break, benefiting from great work by Alexander Sorloth, who played a clever dummy to allow Llorente’s cross to pass through a crowd of players and bounce off the far post.
Alvarez grabbed his second at the culmination of a brilliant run on the counter, before Antoine Griezmann marked his 100th Champions League appearance with a goal from the bench.
3 – Julián Álvarez is the third @atletienglish player to score from a direct free kick in the #UCL after Milinko Pantić (two goals) and Sergio Agüero (one), the first being under Diego Pablo Simeone. Accurate. pic.twitter.com/laUS43sdm0
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 26, 2024
Correa got in on the act late on, netting twice in the space of four minutes to add further gloss to an emphatic victory.
Data Debrief: Centurions
Griezmann and Koke had to settle for a place on the bench at first, but both of the Atleti veterans came on to make their landmark 100th appearances in the competition.
It is the first time two team-mates have made their 100th appearance in the Champions League in the same match.
In scoring, Griezmann became the seventh player to net in his 100th Champions League match, after Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, Toni Kroos and Robert Lewandowski.