David at the double as Lille beat Atletico Madrid – Five things we learned

England midfielder Conor Gallagher’s Atletico Madrid side suffered a humiliating home Champions League defeat to French side Lille.

The 3-1 defeat leave Atletico on just three points, while Lille have now won two of their opening three games in the competition.

Raff Tindale was at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for Hayters TV. Here’s five things we learned from the game…

David at the double and destined for bigger things?

Despite enjoying a stellar season in front of goal in Ligue 1, with seven goal involvements in as many games (5G 2A), Canadian star Jonathan David was not named in the starting eleven versus Atlético. While Lille showed signs of promise in the first half, playing themselves into dangerous positions, Mohamed Bayo, who was named ahead of David to start the game, struggled to make an impact on the match.

After 65 minutes Génésio called upon his star man – and David certainly delivered. Just ten minutes later the Canadian stepped up to the spot, after a lengthy and what will surely be controversial VAR check, to fire the visitors into the lead with a well-taken penalty. Lille certainly looked a much more organised side with their talisman on the pitch, and David bundled the ball into the net following an Atlético defensive mixup for his second in the final minute of play. The 24-year-old is now Lille’s top scorer in both the UCL and Ligue 1, and will have certainly caught the eyes of many top European clubs. Indeed, there were rumours linking the Canadian to Tottenham this past summer, and if he continues to perform in the way he is this campaign, we may see him taking the Premier League by storm in the very near future.

A bad day at the office for Sørloth

After scoring a brace in a routine home 3-1 win versus Leganes last weekend, Alexander Sørloth was awarded his first start in the UCL this campaign versus Lille. Sørloth has had a strong start to the season for Atlético Madrid, having scored three goals and contributed two assists in 10 appearances in La Liga alone. While the Norwegian certainly provided a big presence to lead the Atlético front line with his 6’4″ frame, he struggled to affect the game in any other manner. Within the first 35 minutes of the affair, Sørloth managed to complete the trifecta of missed chances no striker would want to their name: one wide, one over the bar and one straight at the keeper. Sørloth’s shooting boots were certainly not on, and it will be a day to forget for the Norwegian who was subsequently replaced by Ángel Correa in the 65^th minute.

Alvarez impresses despite defeat

Living up to an £82m price tag was always going to be quite the challenge for Alvarez and while he has by no means settled in badly to life in La Liga, scoring three goals in 10 games for Los Colchoneros, it is clear he is still adapting following his move from the Premier League. Alvarez has been on and off the bench for Atlético this season and is yet to complete a full 90 minutes for the club. While he has started both of the club’s previous UCL ties, the Argentine truly came to life in the tie versus Lille, beginning to show the signs that justify the £82m investment. It took only eight minutes for the Argentine to break the deadlock, taking full advantage of a Lille defensive error before slotting it past the keeper for his first goal of this season’s UCL campaign even though it did not result in victory for his side.

Dark horses Lille?

There is no doubt that LOSC Lille will haunt the memories of every Madrileño, regardless of their footballing association. Lille held onto a one-goal lead to claim a most impressive victory versus Real Madrid in the previous round of fixtures and showed great determination to fight back from a goal behind to claim an equally impressive victory against Atlético. It was a tale of two substitutes making the difference, as Edon Zhegrova’s wonder goal and David’s brace proved enough for the visitors to bring all three points back to France.

Lille sit fourth in Ligue 1 and while they haven’t had the most impressive of starts to their league campaign, one thing is certain: Bruno Génésio’s men are making waves in the Champions League. The French outfit host Italian giants Juventus in their next Champions League outing, and off the back of both of the Spanish capital’s sides, they will undoubtedly be looking to add another win to their names and continue their most impressive Champions League campaign.

Griezmann crucial if Atletico are to turn it around

Antoine Griezmann is certainly the gift that keeps on giving for Atlético Madrid. Time and time again the 33-year-old has shown his wizardry for both club and country, running the show from whichever position he may be playing in on that given day. Griezmann pulls all the strings and is the man who makes everything tick for Atlético, and the Frenchman once again showed his brilliance in the Champions League tie. Griezmann seemingly occupied every position in the front line all at once, popping up everywhere and playing his teammates through on goal numerous times throughout the game. Despite his teammates not capitalising on the opportunities presented by Griezmann’s wizardry, Simeone will need the Frenchman to continue his brilliance if Atlético Madrid have any chance of playing their way into the top eight and securing automatic qualification into the knockout stages.