La Liga was back with another double-header on Monday night, with both matches taking place in the Spanish capital. Vallecas and the Coliseum Alfonso Perez were treated to very different matches.
Getafe 1-0 Alaves
Getafe played out a tight scrappy match with Alaves, but got their first win of the season over the traveling Basque outfit. High on confidence following their victory over Sevilla, Alaves could not find the same rhythm against Los Azulones.
Xaber Alkain came closest for Alaves in both halves, nodding narrowly over in the second, while Abdel Aqbar forced a great save from David Soria. At the other end, Borja Mayoral hit the post in the first half, but when presented with a penalty in the second (committed by Aqbar), he did not err.
A loud Coliseum greeted Jose Bordalas’ first win of the season, with Getafe into the top half. Alaves will rue their own mistakes which were their own downfall.
HIGHLIGHTS: #GetafeAlavaes 1-0
Mayoral grabs three points for @GetafeCF 🔵#LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/to0KxdhROt
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) August 28, 2023
Rayo Vallecano 0-7 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid went to Vallecas hoping to find more rhythm than they did against Real Betis, and after two minutes, they already looked far more incisive. Rodrigo de Paul’s ball over the defence found Antoine Griezmann, who finished first time.
The football continued to be fast-paced an exploitative from Atletico, as Memphis Depay got on the end of a good Saul Niguez ball. Before the half was out, Nahuel Molina slotted past Stole Dimitrievski, after being sent in behind in a carbon copy of the goal he scored at Vallecas less than a year ago.
Into the second half and the game did not hit the same heights until the final 20 minutes, when Rayo’s defence was again ripped through by Atletico Madrid, setting up a first for Alvaro Morata. He had a second after neat interplay between Griezmann and Saul, while Angel Correa, another substitute, capitalised on a defensive error to loft a delightful chip into the far corner from distance. Finally, Marcos Llorente came onto the ball in the box and passed it home into the near corner.
That completed a seven-goal rout, the only sour note of which was Memphis exiting the game after half an hour. For Rayo, it was a game laced with errors, lacking in character and absent of competitiveness. They come crashing back to earth after two away wins, and are now owners of the worst defensive record in the division with Granada.
HIGHLIGHTS: #RayoAtleti 0-7
Perfect seven for @atletienglish 7️⃣#LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/VEHm3x3dQA
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) August 28, 2023
