Alvarado Morata starred for Atletico Madrid in their 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Mallorca in La Liga on Friday. While Morata scored a brace, Koke scored the other one at the empty Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to keep Atletico firmly on course for a Champions League spot next season.
The first goal of the night came after Atletico was awarded a penalty when Aleksandar Sedlar had fouled Morata. The former Chelsea player failed to convert it in the first attempt, while encroachment into the penalty area from a Mallorcan player gave Atletico another chance. Morata did not make any mistake in the second attempt in the 29th minute.
The striker added to his tally moments away from the first-half. Marcos Llorente set up a brilliant ball for him to direct it into an empty net in the fourth minute of the stoppage time.
The third goal and the final nail in Mallorca’s coffin was hammered by Koke after his deflected shot ended up in the visitors’ net in the 76th minute.
The Diego Simeone-managed team have been exceptional since the resumption of La Liga after the COVID-19 hiatus. In the six league matches, they have won five and drawn one against Barcelona.
Atletico with 62 points from 34 matches are 12 points away from their Madrid rival and table-toppers Real Madrid. They are placed third in the points table, while Barcelona with 70 points are second.
On Thursday, Real Madrid had managed to strengthen their stay at the top and extend the difference with Barcelona by four points with a narrow 1-0 win over Getafe, thanks to a successful penalty kick from captain Sergio Ramos at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium.
Real Madrid will now believe that, if they can win away to Athletic Club Bilbao on Sunday afternoon in what is one of their toughest matches between now and the end of the season, they will have one hand on the title.