Julian Alvarez scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure a narrow 1-0 victory for Atletico Madrid over Real Oviedo at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere, ending their run of three away LaLiga games without a win in the process.
Atleti booked their place in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) last 16 in midweek with a 4-1 play-off round second-leg victory over Club Brugge, but a trip to Oviedo shone a light on their disappointing LaLiga away form.
Even against the league’s basement club, the visitors’ record of just three wins in 12 league games on the road this term suggested things might not be straightforward here, and that proved to be the case in the first half.
Before the interval, Diego Simeone’s men failed to register a single shot on target, looking nothing like the side that had scored 11 goals in their previous three competitive matches.
Oviedo, meanwhile, belied their recent poor form that had seen them win just one of their previous eight league games.
Federico Vinas was the first man to test either goalkeeper, firing into Jan Oblak’s chest with a chipped attempt, before the Slovenia international produced two fantastic stops within seconds of each other just before the break.
