Julián Álvarez had not scored for Atlético since April, and his goal earned ten men a point in Stuttgart
Stuttgart had 18 shots and the lead at half-time, but Álvarez equalised early in the second half and Atlético held on after Hjulmand’s red card.
Oct 21, 2026
Julián Álvarez’s last goal for Atlético Madrid came against Arsenal in the Champions League on 29 April. His next one arrived 90 seconds into the second half at the MHPArena on Tuesday, and it earned a 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart, even after Morten Hjulmand’s red card left Diego Simeone’s side to play the last half-hour with ten men.
Stuttgart had the better of it and knew it. They had 18 shots to Atlético’s ten, and Sebastian Hoeneß said his team could have been two goals up by half-time. They are still unbeaten in the league phase, with seven points from three games. Atlético have four.
Pubill’s mistake, Leweling’s finish
The opening goal came from an Atlético error. In the 36th minute Marc Pubill lost the ball to Angelo Stiller near his own box, and Jamie Leweling drove it into the bottom corner. Jan Oblak had already kept out Bilal El Khannouss and Josha Vagnoman by then. He finished the night with four saves.
Lookman off the bench, Álvarez at last
Simeone sent on Ademola Lookman for Jonathan David at half-time, and it paid off almost straight away. Lookman got away on the left and set up Álvarez, who finished first time. “I was sure the goal was going to come,” Simeone told Movistar. Alejandro Grimaldo went further and called Álvarez “our best player”.
It was the Argentine’s first goal of the season. He scored ten in last season’s Champions League run to the semi-finals. His attempt to force a summer move to Barcelona had angered some Atlético supporters.
Hjulmand’s red card
On 64 minutes Hjulmand caught Stiller with a high, studs-up challenge in midfield and was sent off. Simeone called the decision fair. Stuttgart pushed for a winner: Grischa Prömel headed wide, Jeff Chabot narrowly missed from a late corner, and substitute Dženan Pejčinović put a header wide in stoppage time.
“In the end it feels like we lost two points,” Chris Führich said. Hoeneß sounded prouder than frustrated. “Our first half was incredible,” he said.
Where it leaves them
Stuttgart had won their first two games, beating Viking 3-1 with an Ermedin Demirović hat-trick and winning 3-0 away at Slovan Bratislava. Demirović started on the bench here. Atlético lost 2-1 at Liverpool on the opening matchday and beat Manchester United 2-0 in Madrid last week. Bayern Munich are their next Champions League opponents on 3 November.