Atlético Madrid hosted Rayo Vallecano in Matchday 6 of the 2025-26 La Liga season after a rocky start to the campaign. In a match where both teams took the lead at least once, Julián Álvarez delivered the winner with a stunning strike to seal a 3-2 comeback.
Eager to secure their second league victory, Atlético struck first in the 15th minute of the Madrid derby. A move down the right ended with Marcos Llorente sending a cross to the far post, where Álvarez connected with a first-time finish to give Los Colchoneros the early advantage.
After the opener, Atlético slowed the tempo and allowed Rayo back into the match. In first-half stoppage time, Josep Chavarría leveled with a thunderous long-range strike, before Álvaro García dribbled past Jan Oblak in the 77th minute to complete the visitors’ comeback.
But Álvarez stepped up to rescue Atlético from another setback. In the 80th minute, Giuliano Simeone’s header forced a rebound from goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, which Álvarez pounced on inside the box to equalize at 2-2.
As the game neared its end, Álvarez produced the decisive moment. Dropping into midfield, he collected a pass from Simeone, cut inside, and unleashed a spectacular left-footed strike from outside the box that flew into the top corner, sealing his hat trick and Atlético’s dramatic win.
With the 3-2 result, Atletico Madrid jumped to the 9th position in La Liga, now with 9 points after two wins, three draws an only one defeat. The victory comes in a vital moment for the team as they’ll be facing Real Madrid next Saturday, who are heading to the Madrid derby after winning all 7 games of the 2025-26 season so far.
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Álvarez’s first hat-trick in Europe
Julián Álvarez has established himself as one of the top strikers in Europe over the past few years, cementing his reputation with a key role in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph. But since moving to Europe in 2022, he had yet to complete a hat trick, until now.
During his River Plate days in Argentina, Álvarez took the match ball home five times: three hat tricks, one four-goal game, and a Copa Libertadores clash where he scored six. At Manchester City, he recorded five braces but no hat tricks, while at Atlético he had produced six braces before finally breaking through with his first European hat trick.
