Atletico maintain hot streak with Getafe win

Sorloth ensures Los Colchoneros an 11th straight victory

MADRID:

Alexander Sorloth earned Atletico Madrid an 11th straight victory with his goal sealing a 1-0 win over Getafe on Sunday in La Liga.

Diego Simeone's side have been in fine form and continued their winning run across all competitions with a deserved home triumph, pulling provisionally level with league leaders Barcelona.

Norwegian target man Sorloth came off the bench to head home the winner in the second half for his seventh league goal this season.

Atletico, second, lead rivals Real Madrid by a point after Los Blancos drew at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, while Barcelona host Leganes later Sunday.

Atletico Madrid controlled the first half but could not put away the chances they created.

Two of the most inviting fell to winger Samuel Lino, but he failed to convert on both occasions.

Giuliano Simeone crossed for the Brazilian and he poked the ball wide, before firing off-target again after Rodrigo De Paul played him in with a clever lob.

Argentine midfielder De Paul, on a strong run of form, swept a shot wide as the hosts continued to dominate at the Metropolitano stadium.

David Soria saved from Julian Alvarez shortly before teams went in goalless at the break. Pablo Barrios fired narrowly off-target before Atletico took the lead in the 69th minute.

Substitute Sorloth peeled off his marker at the far post and placed a header back across goal and into the net from Nahuel Molina's cross.

Getafe pushed for a leveller but it was Atletico who came closer to scoring in the final stages, with Angel Correa running through on goal but between Soria and two defenders, the visitors managed to thwart him.

Rayo stymie Real's climb to Liga summit

European champions' played a pulsating 3-3 draw on Saturday.

Real turned up at their city rivals after a hard fought 3-2 away win at Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek.

Kylian Mbappe netted his 50th goal in the competition to open the scoring in Italy only to come off with a thigh injury which left the French star out of Carlo Ancelotti's calculations for this Saturday night away date in the Spanish capital.

Rayo Vallecano, on the back of a win last time out, stunned the visiting giants when Unai Lopez headed in Jorge de Frutos's pin-perfect cross with the game only four minutes old.

Rayo went for the kill at a raucous Estadio de Vallecas, only for de Frutos's shot to fly over the bar.

But the home side only had to wait until after the half hour mark to double their lead with another header, this time from Abdul Mumin.

That unexpected scoreline only lasted three minutes as Fede Valverde pulled one back for Real with a tremendous 25-yard strike for his fourth goal of the season.

Just as Rayo might have been thinking of going into the break in the lead, Jude Bellingham bagged the leveller in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

The England international headed Rodrygo's clip into the bottom corner for his sixth straight goal in the league.

Real emerged in the second half intent on completing their comeback and their climb to the top of the table, for 24 hours at least.

Arda Guler had the ball in the back of the net but Real's Turkish teenager's effort was disallowed for clear offside.

Two minutes later, Rodrygo put the visitors in front for the first time in style, the Brazilian winger's shot flying into the top corner past Augusto Batalla.

Ancelotti introduced Vinicius Junior, who made his comeback against Atalanta from injury and also got on the scoresheet against the Serie A leaders.

The sight of the fearsome forward did not cow Rayo, who seconds later cancelled out Real's lead when Isi Palazon connected with Florian Lejeune's long range teaser to fox Thibaut Courtois.