Atletico were dominant in the first half, and Julian Alvarez was a particularly prominent figure, firstly dragging a shot wide from the edge of the box.

He then produced some neat footwork before setting up Pablo Barrios, who fired over.

However, Deportivo soon began to show why they had lost just twice in LaLiga prior to tonight (W2, D5), and started to create some neat passages of their own.

They almost took a shock lead when Yeremay Hernandez’s free-kick was parried by Jan Oblak, before the ever-reliable goalkeeper reacted brilliantly to deny Lorenzo Amatucci on the rebound.

In truth, though, that was the only threat the visitors provided in the first half, and Atletico squandered further chances to take the lead before half-time, with Lee Kang-In and Morten Hjulmand striking over.

However, it did not take them long to break the deadlock in the second period. Alejandro Grimaldo whipped a dangerous cross in and Alvarez, slowly rebuilding his relationship with the club after a failed transfer this summer, scored his second goal in as many games with a trademark finish into the bottom corner.

That was the ninth time in 10 LaLiga matches that Atletico have opened the scoring this season, and they threatened to extend their advantage when Alex Baena’s effort was gathered by Leo Roman, before centre-back David Hancko tried his luck from range and just missed the crossbar.

The hosts were comfortable despite the narrow lead, and decided to give minutes to some players off the bench, one being Alexander Sorloth, who brushed Roman’s palm with a rocket towards goal. 

As was the case against Espanyol last weekend though, one goal was enough for Atletico to claim their eighth league win this season (D1, L1), and they are now unbeaten in 15 competitive head-to-heads (W12, D3).

Deportivo showed plenty of fight but ultimately lacked quality, as their winless run stretches to six matches (D3, L3).

Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)