"Alvarez had opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Pep Chavarria's sensational strike and Alvaro Garcia's finish turned the contest on its head with 13 minutes remaining. However, Alvarez popped up with two goals in eight minutes late on to secure just Atletico's second win of the season, moving them up to ninth in the early LaLiga standings. Indeed, it was the Argentine forward's first career hat-trick in Europe's top five leagues across all competitions (166 appearances for Atletico and Manchester City)."
"Alvarez also posted a joint-team-high total of chances created (three, level with Marcos Llorente and Nahuel Molina), with all three of his shots in the contest on target. "[Alvarez] is very good - he's the best player we have," Simeone told ESPN. "We have to look after him, we have to help him be better. "We need to have him here for many years at Atletico Madrid, he's our difference-making player.""
"Alvarez did, however, come into the contest low on confidence, having missed an early penalty during their 1-1 draw away to Mallorca in their last league fixture. The 25-year-old was replaced just after the hour by Alexander Sorloth, who was sent off 10 minutes later, and he appeared unhappy about being withdrawn by Simeone. Reports in Spain claimed that Alvarez had muttered "always me" after being substituted, though the Atletico forward was quick to clear up any misunderstanding."
Julian Alvarez scored a hat-trick as Atletico Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2, opening the scoring in the 15th minute and netting two late goals within eight minutes to secure the win. Pep Chavarria and Alvaro Garcia had briefly put Rayo ahead late in the match. The hat-trick was Alvarez's first career treble in Europe's top five leagues across 166 appearances between Atletico and Manchester City. Alvarez created three chances (a joint-team-high) and had all three shots on target. Diego Simeone called Alvarez the team's best player and said the club must look after and keep him. Alvarez had entered the match low on confidence after missing a penalty at Mallorca, was substituted after about an hour, and was reported to have muttered complaints that he later moved to clarify.
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