Atletico Madrid vs Valencia. Spanish La Liga.
Vicente CalderonAttendance46,473.
Sunday 5 March 2017 19:56, UK
Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid returned to the top four in La Liga with an assured 3-0 victory over Valencia at the Vicente Calderon.
Griezmann notched his 19th and 20th goals of the season either side of Kevin Gameiro's strike early in the second half.
Valencia offered little by way of a response, failing to create a single clear-cut chance on what proved to be a routine outing for Diego Simeone's men.
The result sees Atletico maintain their push for Champions League qualification, moving up to fourth at the expense of Real Sociedad, while Valencia remain 13th in the Primera Division.
In what was a dominant display from start to finish, it took just three minutes for Atleti to fashion their first chance, but Griezmann was unable to convert Yannick Carrasco's cut back from close range.
Undeterred, it took just a further seven minutes for Griezmann to break the deadlock, putting the finishing touch on a counter attack he had initiated by driving Koke's through ball past Diego Alves with a first-time finish.
One nearly became two with a carbon copy of Griezmann's first, but the Frenchman's shot from 20 yards whistled over the target.
Ezequiel Garay's last-gasp intervention prevented Gameiro and Griezmann from converting Carrasco's wicked 24th-minute cross.
Former West Ham striker Simone Zaza glanced a difficult header well wide shortly after as Valencia made a rare venture in opposition territory.
Gameiro then got the better of Eliaquim Mangala on 29 minutes but, having gathered Sime Vrsaljko's pass, he flashed a shot wide.
The onslaught on the Valencia goal continued after the interval, with the bright Carrasco's curling, goal-bound effort crucially deflected wide by Mangala.
But, having denied Carrasco, Mangala played a huge part as Atleti doubled their lead on 48 minutes, deflecting Gameiro's low drive over Alves into the back of the net.
Alves kept Valencia's slim hopes of a result alive with a stunning save to deny Griezmann his second on 54 minutes, thwarting the Frenchman in a one-on-one scenario.
On the back foot for the most part, Valencia were restricted to shots from distance as Munir El Haddadi tried to catch Jan Oblak out for a shot from 45 yards which the keep tipped out for a corner.
Mangala's great defensive tackle on the hour-mark, to halt Gameiro, kept the scoreline respectable for Valencia.
The visitors almost contributed to their own downfall, playing two under-hit back passes in as many minutes, but Garay was on hand to challenge Gameiro while Griezmann chipped an effort inches wide.
But, seven minutes from time, Griezmann put the icing on the cake for Atletico, reacting quickest to gather a deflected through ball before toe-poking the ball home past Alves.
