Atletico thrash Valladolid 5-0 to provisionally move to second in LaLiga

VALLADOLID, Spain - Atletico Madrid hammered bottom side Real Valladolid 5-0 in a LaLiga encounter at the Jose Zorrilla stadium on Saturday and provisionally moved into second place in the standings.

Atletico, who claimed their seventh straight win in all competitions, are on 32 points, two ahead of Real Madrid, who have two games in hand. Barcelona, who lost 2-1 to Las Palmas earlier on Saturday, remain top with 34 points.

"I'm happy with the team's performance. We know that every match is important and we came out very well today. Three important points and let's keep going like this," Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann told DAZN.

Clement Lenglet opened the scoring for Atletico after 26 minutes with a close-range finish from Marcos Llorente's cross from the right, marking the French defender's first LaLiga goal since 2020.

Julian Alvarez doubled the lead in the 35th minute, pouncing on a rebound from goalkeeper Karl Hein who had blocked Griezmann's shot but could not deny the Argentine striker from the second attempt.

Rodrigo De Paul made it 3-0 two minutes later with a first-time low shot, before Griezmann added another goal seven minutes into the second half after a brilliant move that drew applause from the opposing fans.

"I am grateful for the applause (from Valladolid fans). That's what we footballers want, for them to enjoy us, whether they are our opponents or our team," Griezmann added.

"The affection is appreciated. I feel very good and I hope to give more."

Valladolid's Ivan Sanchez got the closest chance to put the hosts on the scoresheet but his 72nd-minute attempt hit the crossbar.

Alexander Sorloth then scored a stoppage-time winner as Valladolid slumped to their tenth defeat in 15 games, leaving them bottom of the table on nine points.

"There is no explanation, we played a very bad game," Valladolid captain Javi Sanchez said.

"We have to be critical of ourselves. We had the hope of turning the situation around but it didn't go well."

(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; editing by Clare Fallon)