Diego Simeone's 700th game in charge of Atlético Madrid ended with a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alavés in LaLiga. Alexander Sørloth scored the winning goal for the home side in the 86th minute at the Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday.

Alavés took the lead early on from the penalty spot, but Antoine Griezmann equalised in the 76th minute with a spot kick of their own. Second-half substitute Sørloth bagged his fifth goal of the season to seal all three points.

Atlético are now second in LaLiga, four points behind leaders Barcelona, who have two games in hand, while Alavés are down in 16th.

"It's an incredible amount, 700 games. Congratulations to him. The result is for him and the supporters," Simeone' son Giuliano, who livened things up in the second half and earned the man-of-the-match award, said.

Atlético were on the back foot from the seventh minute when Javi Galan conceded a penalty with a handball when he had his arm raised to block a cross. Jon Guridi made no mistake from the spot when he sent Jan Oblak the wrong way.

The Metropolitano crowd fell silent after going 1-0 down, but they found their voice when Griezmann set up Samuel Lino, who saw his shot hit the crossbar before the visitors cleared the ball.

As Alavés stood firm in defence, a few boos and whistles could be heard as Atlético failed to make better use of their possession. They played wasteful passes in the final third, while Antonio Sivera was alert to danger and made several saves.

Simeone made two substitutions at half-time, with Giuliano and Sørloth coming on while Julian Alvarez was introduced at the hour mark, but Alaves' disciplined defence kept the home side at bay.

Giuliano gave their attack a boost, popping up on both flanks. He came close to equalising with a counter-attack, racing through on goal, but saw his shot saved by Sivera.

Atlético got a boost in the 74th minute when Sørloth's header hit the arm of defender Abdel Abqar, resulting in a penalty. Although Sivera dived in the right direction, Griezmann's spot kick found the back of the net.

With a draw looking likely, Rodrigo De Paul spotted Sørloth making a run in behind and the Norwegian's powerful strike found the back of the net at the near post, giving Atlético the win.In the end, Atlético Madrid beat their opponents with two goals in the second half, giving their head coach Simeone a win in a milestone game.