Alaves 1-2 Atletico Madrid: Romero's 87th-minute goal wins it
AI-written review based on match data · How we make it
Key numbers
- 710 passes, a season high in eight matches
- xG per shot 0.10 v 0.14: Alaves had quality
- 87' goal worth +1.7 FN xPts, the biggest moment
Atletico found the winner late
Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at Alaves after a match that was level for most of its second half. Álex Grimaldo put them ahead in the 33rd minute, Lucas Boyé levelled from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, and Cristian Romero's 87th-minute goal settled it. Alaves never led.
A season-high showing in volume
Atletico's 710 passes and ten corners were both the highest of their eight matches this season, beating previous bests of 657 and eight. Alaves, by contrast, did not win a single corner. The ball and the territory belonged to the visitors, which the numbers make plain.
Alaves made the better chances
Volume did not mean quality. Atletico's 21 shots averaged 0.10 xG each, below the 0.14 per attempt Alaves managed. Alaves faced far more shots than their season average, yet the chances they did create were of a higher standard, which helps explain why the visitors needed until the 87th minute to take the lead.
A bench player set up the winner
Romero's goal came with the scores level and was worth +1.7 FN xPts, the largest single moment of the match. Alaves were a player short after Angel Pérez's red card in the 61st minute. Álex Baena's assist provided the pass, and he had started on the bench before coming on in the 45th minute.
FN MOM
Highest FN Score · our own pick by a published formula, not the official Player of the Match
Álex Grimaldo 9.1Dominant
Six key passes, a goal and three shots made him Atletico's main attacking source.
Grimaldo's value came mostly from attack. His six key passes were the most of any player, and two of his three shots were on target. His goal in the 33rd minute, his third in the league this season, gave Atletico their first lead, and he added two tackles and two interceptions from left-back.
Game state
0-11-11-2
Alaves ahead 0 min · level 75 min · Atletico Madrid ahead 15 min
- Alaves: Red card 61' → ~29 min a player down
FN xPts — what each moment was worth
How much each moment changed that team's expected points (win 3, draw 1). A goal's value is credited 70% to the scorer and 30% to the assist. The value next to a team code is what the same moment did to the other side's expected points; the decisive moment is the one with the largest combined change for both teams.
33'
Álex Grimaldo
Goal · scorer +0.6 · assist Jonathan David +0.3 · ALA −0.7
+0.9
45+6'
Lucas Boyé
Pen goal · ATM −1.0
+0.8
61'
Angel Pérez
Red card · ATM +0.3
−0.2
87'
Cristian Romero
Goal · scorer +1.2 · assist Álex Baena +0.5 · ALA −0.9
+1.7
Alaves
Expected (last two seasons) 1.2Own moments +0.6Opponent moments −1.6Time effect −0.2→ League points won 0
Atletico Madrid
Expected (last two seasons) 1.5Own moments +2.6Opponent moments −0.7Time effect −0.4→ League points won 3
Expected points don't add up to a fixed total (a draw is 1 + 1), so an opponent's moment isn't simply the mirror of your loss. "Time effect" is the change as the clock runs down on a lead or a chase, and isn't credited to any player.
How FN Score and FN xPts work →
Match stats
AlavesAtletico Madrid
1.13Expected goals (xG)2.06
Compared with usual
Alaves
7 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 1 | 1.6 | |
| Conceded | 2 | 0.86 | |
| xG | 1.13 | 1.3 | |
| xG against | 2.06 | 1.1 | |
| Shots | 8 | 12.4 | |
| On target | 3 | 4.4 | |
| Shots faced | 21 | 12.1 | |
| xG per shot | 0.14 | 0.09 | |
| Possession | 32% | 42.1% | |
| Passes | 339 | 320.1 | |
| Corners | 0 | 4.3 | |
| Fouls | 11 | 13.6 | |
Atletico Madrid
8 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 2 | 2.1 | |
| Conceded | 1 | 1.1 | |
| xG | 2.06 | 1.6 | |
| xG against | 1.13 | 1.1 | |
| Shots | 21 | 16 | |
| On target | 7 | 6.1 | |
| Shots faced | 8 | 10.3 | |
| xG per shot | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
| Possession | 68% | 56.9% | |
| Passes | 710 | 556.9 | high |
| Corners | 10 | 5 | high |
| Fouls | 14 | 12 | |
Timeline
- 33'
Goal
Álex Grimaldo league goal #3 assist Jonathan David
- 45'
Yellow
Ademola Lookman
- 45'
Sub
Jonathan David → Álex Baena
- 45'
Sub
Ademola Lookman → Julián Alvarez
- 45+1'
Yellow
Robin Le Normand
- 45+6'
Goal
Lucas Boyé (pen) league goal #5
- 57'
Sub
Pablo Barrios → Lee Kang-In
- 60'
VAR
Angel Pérez
- 61'
Red
Angel Pérez
- 62'
Sub
Robin Le Normand → Dávid Hancko
- 64'
Sub
Antonio Blanco → Carlos Benavídez
- 64'
Sub
Toni Martínez → Mariano Díaz
- 64'
Sub
Lucas Boyé → Guevara
- 71'
Sub
Nicolás Valentini → Ville Koski
- 73'
Sub
Giuliano Simeone → Alexander Sørloth
- 79'
Sub
Denis Suárez → Aitor Mañas
- 87'
Goal
Cristian Romero league goal #1 assist Álex Baena
- 90+2'
Yellow
Johnny Cardoso
Category leaders
- Key passesÁlex Grimaldo6
- Duels wonKoke9/9
- DribblesJohnny Cardoso3/3
- Defensive actionsPablo Ibáñez8
- ShotsÁlex Grimaldo3 (on target 2)
- Fouls wonKoke3
#La Liga#Alaves#Atletico Madrid#Álex Grimaldo#Cristian Romero#Matchweek 8
This review was written by AI from match data (API-Football). FN Score and FN xPts are calculated by Fulltime Note using a published formula.