After an exciting start to pre-season with Manchester United, winger Facundo Pellistri came back to reality when he was sent back on loan to Alaves.
The La Liga strugglers have had a poor start to the campaign, losing five of their last five games.
Then at the weekend a miraculous result occurred. Pellistri’s Alaves beat defending champions Atletico Madrid 1-0.
A shock win
The result was Alaves’ first victory of the campaign and Atletico Madrid’s first defeat.
Pellistri was a second half substitute, coming on as part of a double change in the 61st minute with Alaves leading 1-0.
He was brought on minutes after Atletico re-adjusted with a triple substitution of their own.
Atletico threw everything at scoring, with Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann playing all 90 minutes, and striker Matheus Cunha also brought into the mix.
Pellistri’s Atletico held on for a rare clean sheet and even rarer victory.
The Manchester United loanee did not see too much possession with Atletico dominating as they pushed for an equaliser.
But he did prove to be a very effective way for Alaves to push up the pitch and relieve some of the pressure.
Pellistri made two successful dribbles and won one free-kick as his side managed to frustrate Atletico. He also made one clearance.
Biggest win of Pellistri’s career
This was the biggest win Pellistri has been involved in during his career to date.
Alaves are still in the relegation zone, 19th of 20 teams and nobody would have given them a chance ahead of the game.
Pellistri has work to do to establish himself in Alaves’ starting line-up. This was his sixth appearance of the season and fifth from the bench.
It’s worth remembering that this time last year the 19-year-old’s move to Manchester United had not even taken place.
He has made steady progress over the past 12 months to be playing in a game of this magnitude. Pellistri just needs to do a little more as the season goes along to leave himself in a more promising position next summer.
A win like this will lift his confidence, and everybody at Alaves. It could be the result they needed.
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