Julian Alvarez has missed two games, and Atletico have scored seven without him

Atletico Madrid have not had Julian Alvarez available for two matches now. They have scored seven goals in those two matches, which is not the outcome anyone at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano would have predicted when the muscle problem turned up in training.

Osasuna were the latest to find that out. Jonathan David scored on 24 minutes, Lee Kang-in added a second just after the break, Robin Le Normand headed in a third on 63 and Alex Baena finished it on 82. Atletico had 68 per cent of the ball and took 27 shots. Osasuna did not get close.

The loan signing nobody was talking about

Jonathan David arrived on the last day of the transfer window, on loan from Juventus until the end of the season, and for a week he was a footnote. He was left out against Athletic Club with minor discomfort. His debut came at Anfield in the Champions League, 22 minutes off the bench, and he barely touched the ball.

Then Diego Simeone put him in the league side. He scored in the 90th minute at Anoeta on September 13, his first goal for the club, and he scored again on Wednesday. Two La Liga appearances for Atletico, two goals, both of them arriving while the man he is standing in for watches from home.

That is a small sample and everyone involved knows it. What matters more is that Simeone has a forward who looks like he wants the ball in the box, at a point in the season when his first choice cannot be rushed.

Alvarez and the derby

Alvarez picked up a muscle overload in training and has now sat out the trip to Real Sociedad and the Osasuna game. Simeone was careful about it before kick-off. “Based on what we’ve discussed with the medical staff, he’s still in recovery, so he won’t be able to join us,” he said.

The date circled is Sunday. Real Madrid come to the Metropolitano at 7:45pm India time for the first Madrid derby of the season, and Atletico would much rather have Alvarez fit for that than for a home game against a side in freefall. Whether he makes it is still open.

Osasuna are falling apart at the wrong end

Three games, three defeats, eleven goals conceded. Alaves put five past them on September 6, Espanyol beat them 2-0, and now this. In their first three league games of the season they conceded once.

They still have seven points and sit thirteenth, so this is not a crisis yet. It is a run, and the difference between the two matters in September. Rayo Vallecano visit on Saturday, which on current form is exactly the kind of fixture that decides whether a bad week becomes a bad autumn.

Where it leaves the table

Atletico moved third on 13 points, level with Sevilla and ahead on goal difference. Barcelona lead on 18 after their own seven-goal night, Real Madrid are second on 15. Five points behind the leaders after six rounds is not a gap Atletico will worry about, especially with the two clubs above them both still to visit.

Sunday gives them one of those visits straight away.

Follow the race at the top of La Liga