BARCELONA: Atletico Madrid dismantled city rivals Rayo Vallecano 7-0 in Monday night with a ruthless display and their largest ever away win in La Liga.
Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring early on, before his strike partner Memphis Depay netted the second from close range from Saul Niguez’s cross.
Atletico lost the Dutch forward to injury in the first half, but Nahuel Molina slid home the third to kill the game before half-time.
Substitute Alvaro Morata netted in the 73rd minute and then again after Angel Correa grabbed the fifth, with Marcos Llorente finishing the rout late on.
“We had a great game from the start, with a lot of intensity,” Antoine Griezmann told Movistar.
“They’re three important points and I’m very happy with the team’s work today.”
Atletico’s emphatic victory took them second in the table, two points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Rayo had started the season well, with two wins in their first two matches, but were brought crashing back down to earth by Diego Simeone’s side.
“They were better in every way,” said Rayo midfielder Oscar Valentin.
“We are not this bad — we just have to continue and forget about what happened today.”
Earlier Getafe snatched a 1-0 home win over Alaves, their first triumph of the season.
Atletico crush dismal Rayo in seven-goal rout
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Atletico crush dismal Rayo in seven-goal rout
- Atletico’s emphatic victory took them second in the table, two points behind leaders Real Madrid
Havertz haunts former club as Arsenal rescue 1-1 draw at Leverkusen
- Havertz converted the late spot kick to cancel out Robert Andrich’s 46th-minute header
- The two sides will meet again in London for the return leg next Tuesday
LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Arsenal’s eight-game winning run in the Champions League came to an end as they needed an 89th-minute penalty from substitute Kai Havertz to rescue a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in their last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Former Leverkusen player Havertz converted the late spot kick to cancel out Robert Andrich’s 46th-minute header for the hosts, marking the first time this season that quadruple-chasing Arsenal had fallen behind in Europe’s elite competition.
The Premier League leaders, who had won all eight of their previous matches to top the table after the league phase, were toothless in attack despite hitting the woodwork in a bright start, and could not find a way back into the game until their late penalty, awarded for a foul on Noni Madueke.
The two sides will meet again in London for the return leg next Tuesday.
