The “sucker punch” has been elevated to an art form by Alexander Sørloth and Atlético Madrid.

Alexander Sørloth and Atlético Madrid have elevated the “sucker punch” to an art form that must be mastered.

Diego Simeone achieved one of the few accomplishments that had been absent from his résumé in LaLiga:

an away victory at FC Barcelona, just prior to celebrating his 13th anniversary as the manager of Atlético de Madrid.

Diego’s leadership of Atlético Madrid to a 2-1 victory at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium on his father’s birthday, nearly three years after Carlos Simeone’s passing, is a significant victory that has significantly altered the tone of the Spanish title race.

Barcelona will be third in the league at Christmas, following their dominance of the initial weeks of the season.

Atlético are the holiday table-toppers, with 41 points from 18 games, one more than their city rivals Real Madrid. Additionally, each Madrid team has a game in hand on Barça. Alexander “Sicario” Sørloth scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to put Atlético on top.

This marks the 13th time in 26 games this season that Atleti have scored a goal in added time, and the third time that Sørloth has provided these late exploits. The 29-year-old was not necessarily recruited with the intention of serving as a super-sub, but it has proven to be effective.

The Colchoneros appear entirely different after opposing defenses spend approximately 60 minutes pursuing Antoine Griezmann or Julián Alvarez.

Ark is the pinnacle of his professional career. Atlético has scored 18 goals and conceded only five in his 781 minutes of play, which has contributed 15 points to the team’s total.

However, Simeone had effectively prepared him for Sørloth’s arrival by making key substitutions and tactical decisions that demonstrated that the late goals were not a bug, but rather a characteristic of the league leaders’ approach, well before Sørloth arrived to alter Sunday’s game and, by extension, the title race.

Simeone altered his starting lineup after witnessing Barcelona, commanded by Pedri, dominate his team in the first half. He transferred Conor Gallagher from the left side of midfield (Javi Galán’s flank) to the right side, while Rodrigo de Paul moved to the left (as illustrated below).

In part, this is how Atlético were able to “open up” in the second half; Galán advanced more frequently, relentlessly driving the flank in quest of a crossing opportunity.