Julian Alvarez Hits 50th Atletico Goal in Stuttgart Champions League Draw

Julian Alvarez ended his Champions League scoring drought with Atletico Madrid’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Stuttgart, reaching 50 goals for the club in the process.

Alvarez delivers on return to Germany

Atletico had fallen behind in the 36th minute when Jamie Leweling drove a low finish past the visiting defence for Stuttgart, who had won both of their opening league-phase matches.

Alvarez responded within 80 seconds of the second half starting. The Argentine forward met substitute Ademola Lookman’s delivery and swept the ball home to bring Atletico level.

The strike was Alvarez’s first Champions League goal since the April 29 meeting with Arsenal. It also made him the sixth player to score 50 times in all competitions during Diego Simeone’s spell in charge.

Red card halts Atletico’s push

Atletico’s hopes of turning the match around were checked in the 64th minute as Morten Hjulmand was dismissed for a high, reckless challenge on Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller.

• Leweling put Stuttgart ahead with a 36th-minute low shot.
• Lookman set up Alvarez moments after the restart.
• Hjulmand’s red card left Atletico with 10 men for the final 26 minutes.
• Jeff Chabot headed Maximilian Mittelstadt’s late corner wide for Stuttgart.

The visitors held on for a point after the sending-off, with Stuttgart unable to find a late winner despite Chabot’s chance.

Simeone backs his striker

Simeone said he had no concern over Alvarez’s wait for a goal, insisting he expected the breakthrough to arrive.

“I was convinced the goal would come,” Simeone said. “We made it 1-1, but after the sending-off we could not control the game in the way we wanted. It had an impact on us.”

The Atletico boss also accepted the decision to send off Hjulmand, adding that players risk a red card whenever they leave the ground in a challenge.

Alvarez had been under scrutiny after trying to engineer a summer move to Barcelona, an exit Atletico’s hierarchy refused to sanction. He scored 10 goals in last season’s run to the Champions League semi-finals, but had registered only one European contribution this term before this match: an assist in the September 9 defeat at Liverpool.

Left-back Alejandro Grimaldo believes the forward’s goal can trigger a run of form.

“He has created plenty of chances in the last few matches,” Grimaldo said. “He is our best player. He needed this goal, and we hope it is the first of many this season.”

What happens next

The draw puts Atletico 15th in the league-phase table with four points. They opened their campaign with defeat at Liverpool before beating Manchester United last week.

Atletico now return to La Liga duty before preparing for Bayern Munich on November 3, with Simeone hoping Alvarez can build immediately on his milestone strike.