Atlético Madrid 1–0 Deportivo: sixth straight win, but the midfield is being rebuilt on the fly

Atlético Madrid beat Deportivo A Coruña 1–0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday, Julián Álvarez scoring the only goal of the game in the 48th minute. It was Atlético's sixth consecutive LaLiga victory, taking them to 25 points from ten matches — eight wins, one draw, one defeat — and second place, two points behind Barcelona. Deportivo, meanwhile, remain winless in six league games.

The result is the headline. The team sheet is the story. Atlético went into the match without Koke, out with a hamstring problem for a third straight game, and Cristian Romero, absent with an adductor issue for a second. Johnny Cardoso was added to that list after a low-grade left hamstring strain picked up in the midweek draw at Stuttgart, leaving Pablo Barrios and Morten Hjulmand as the probable starting midfield pair, with Marcos Llorente an option to be shifted there. Rodrigo Mendoza and Obed Vargas were described as more remote alternatives. This is a squad in the middle of significant turnover — Morten Hjulmand, Rodrigo Mendoza, Obed Vargas, Cristian Romero, Jonathan David and Ademola Lookman have all arrived since the summer — and the midfield that once defined this side is being rebuilt while the fixtures keep coming.

On the raw figures, this was not a controlled performance. Atlético had 56 per cent of the ball and 20 shots to Deportivo's 15, but only four of those were on target against five for the visitors. Expected goals read Atlético 1.37, Deportivo 1.95. Big chances were level at three apiece, and Deportivo edged corners 4–3. Atlético's three corners here sit well below the 6.2 they had averaged across their earlier 2026/27 matches in all competitions.

So the side with more possession and more shots was also the side that conceded the better chances. That is worth stating plainly rather than dressing up as control. The reports of the match describe a win built on Álvarez's finish and the result rather than on dominance, and the chance volume supports that reading: Deportivo created a materially larger share of the game's best opportunities. Whether that reflects a patched-together midfield failing to screen the defence, or simply a good away side executing a 5-3-2 counter-attacking plan well, is the question the next matches will answer.

Lee Kang-in's afternoon is a case in point. Returning from injury concerns, he completed all four of his dribbles and attempted shots with both feet before being substituted in the 22nd minute of the second half without an attacking point. Whether that was a precaution tied to his recent fitness or a tactical change is not something the available reporting settles.

The win keeps Atlético's run intact and keeps them within touching distance of Barcelona. But the balance of this team is currently being maintained by a thinner, less proven core. Barrios and Hjulmand are the pairing holding it together; if either is unavailable, the alternatives are improvisations rather than like-for-like replacements. That is the stress test this winning run has not yet faced.

Deportivo's own situation deserves a mention. They arrived under Antonio Hidalgo, who recently extended his contract after guiding the club back to the top flight, and their absentee list included Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Their winless run cannot be cleanly separated from that. The match also doubled as the club's annual Día de las Peñas fan celebration — a fixture Atlético won, but not one they controlled.

Six straight league wins is a genuine achievement, and Álvarez's goal was enough. The question worth carrying into the coming weeks is simpler: how much of this balance depends on two midfielders staying fit, and what happens when that stops being true?