)
Atletico Madrid were made to sweat against Alaves, but still secured all three points to maintain their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Diego Simeone's side edged a hard-fought 2-1 away victory in matchday eight, with Cristian Romero grabbing an 87th-minute winner.
By the time the Argentine found the net, Atleti had been playing with a man advantage for nearly half an hour following Angel Perez's 61st-minute dismissal for a rash challenge on Julian Alvarez.
Earlier, Los Rojiblancos broke the deadlock with their first real chance of the match in the 33rd minute, courtesy of Alejandro Grimaldo.
Alaves managed to level late in the first half when Lucas Boye converted from the penalty spot following a foul by Robin Le Normand.
The subsequent red card came after a VAR intervention, as the referee had initially produced only a yellow. Alvarez then rattled the woodwork from the resulting free-kick.
The victory makes it four straight wins for Atletico, who head into Tuesday's Champions League clash with Manchester United at the Metropolitano in high spirits.
The Basques, meanwhile, find themselves in a slump, having now gone four games without a win.
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)