Nico Gonzalez stole the show for Atletico Madrid as he scored a brace off the bench to seal Diego Simeone's side a 3-2 win over Real Sociedad in LaLiga.

With Atleti and La Real set to meet in next month's Copa del Rey final, neither side wanted to give the other any mental advantages, but Gonzalez's header in the 81st minute sealed all three points for the hosts at the Metropolitano.

The hosts needed just five minutes to open the scoring as Jose Maria Gimenez's flick on from Giuliano Simeone's long throw was turned in by Alexander Sorloth, but La Real levelled just four minutes later when Carlos Soler lashed in at the near post.

The Premier League's long-throw fever seemed to be catching on at Atleti, with Sorloth this time firing narrowly wide on the spin after another dangerous throw from Giuliano Simeone on the right wing.

Gonzalez managed to get Atleti back ahead in the 67th minute after he curled home following a brilliant backheel assist from Antoine Griezmann, but this time their lead only lasted 93 seconds as Jan Oblak could not keep out Mikel Oyarzabal's strike from the edge of the box.

Nevertheless, Atleti's third lead of the match was not to be squandered, with Gonzalez powering a header past Alex Remiro from Matteo Ruggeri's pinpoint cross late on. 

11 - Alexander Sørloth  has scored 11 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions in calendar year 2026, the second best record among players from top five Euro leagues, only behind Harry Kane (15 goals). Streak. pic.twitter.com/lZ4rmNxiTH

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 7, 2026

Data Debrief: Sorloth's scoring spree continues 

Despite the close scoreline, Atleti were deserved winners at home. They produced 2.29 expected goals (xG) from 24 shots to La Real's 0.41 from just seven attempts.

And their triumph was helped by the in-form Sorloth, who has now scored 11 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions in calendar year 2026, the second-best record among players from the top five European leagues, only behind Harry Kane (15 goals).

The Norwegian striker also registered the most shots (seven), xG (0.78) and touches in the box (11) for Atleti in their win against La Real.