Atletico into second after thrashing Valladolid
Atletico Madrid hammered bottom side Real Valladolid 5-0 in LaLiga to move into second place on the table, at least for the next 24 hours.
Clement Lenglet netted his first goal for the club, and his first in LaLiga since 2020, when he turned in Marcos Llorente's cross from close range to open the floodgates in the 26th minute.
Julian Alvarez doubled the lead in the 35th, pouncing on a rebound from goalkeeper Karl Hein, who had blocked Antoine Griezmann's shot but could not deny the Argentinean striker from the second attempt.
Rodrigo De Paul made it 3-0 two minutes later with a first-time low shot and it could have been worse for Valladolid as Guiliano Simeone and Jose Maria Gimenez both had efforts ruled out for offside in the first half.
Griezmann, though, added another seven minutes into the second half after a brilliant move saw him pirouette inside the box after a neat one-two and dink Hein to finish, prompting even the opposition fans into applause.
Ivan Sanchez rattled the crossbar for the hosts, but it was Atletico that would find another goal as Alexander Sorloth rounded things off in stoppage-time by prodding in Angel Correa's cross.
Atletico is now on 32 points, two ahead of Real Madrid, which has two games in hand.
Barcelona, which was upset 2-1 by Las Palmas earlier in the day, remains top with 34 points.
Valladolid, meanwhile, slumped to a tenth defeat in 15 games, staying bottom of the table on nine points.
After hitting Sparta Prague for six in the UEFA Champions League match in midweek, Diego Simeone's men have scored four or more goals in two consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since May 2023.
It is the first time since February 2018 that it has done so in consecutive away matches.
Simeone said his side's winning run is down to a successful adaptation by the club's summer signings.
Atleti spent big on reinforcements over the summer, and three of those signings – Lenglet, Alvarez and Sorloth – were on target against Valladolid.
"All teams need time. A month and a half ago, two months ago, we talked about the new guys needing to adapt to the team and how Atletico Madrid play because they all played differently in their [former] teams," Simeone said.
"The growth of Lenglet, [Conor] Gallagher, Julian, Sorloth and the hope of recovering [the injured] Robin Le Normand soon is giving us a good feeling.
"We lost a very bad game against [Real] Betis, where we were not recognisable. And I think that was the breakthrough of what has come from then on. We can win, lose or draw, but we have to be recognisable."
Simeone hopes Atleti can carry the momentum into the Copa del Rey, with Cacereno coming up in the second round this week.
"Defensively we are doing well, which gives us a plus, and offensively we also have a position that gives us attacking options, speed, inside play, aerial play, counter-attacking, and we have to keep going," he said.
"The league is very long and we are looking forward to the cup match, which will be tough like all ties, and we need to maintain the humility and commitment that the boys are showing."
