Atletico leapfrog Valencia in battle for third

Monday, 6 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on Valencia in the battle for La Liga’s third automatic Champions League berth when club top scorer Antoine Griezman

n set them on the way to a 2-0 stroll at bottom side Cordoba on Saturday. The victory for the champions at Cordoba’s El Arcangel stadium in balmy Andalucia lifted Atletico above Valencia and onto 62 points from 29 matches. Valencia have 60 points in fourth and can reclaim third spot with a win at home to sixth-placed Villarreal on Sunday. France forward Griezmann struck his 15th league goal of the campaign in the fifth minute after stealing the ball, surging forward from midfield and cracking a precise low shot into the bottom corner. Midfielder Saul Niguez, returning from injury, nodded a second in the 39th before Cordoba had a couple of decent efforts in the second half but could not avoid slipping to a 10th successive reverse. One more loss at Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday and they will equal the worst run in Spain’s top flight of 11 defeats suffered by Las Palmas in 1960. Atletico also stayed hard on the heels of second-placed Real Madrid, who have 64 points, four behind leaders Barcelona.

Atletico leapfrog Valencia in battle for third

Reuters: Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on Valencia in the battle for La Liga’s third automatic Champions League berth when club top scorer Antoine Griezmann set them on the way to a 2-0 stroll at bottom side Cordoba on Saturday. The victory for the champions at Cordoba’s El Arcangel stadium in balmy Andalucia lifted Atletico above Valencia and onto 62 points from 29 matches. Valencia have 60 points in fourth and can reclaim third spot with a win at home to sixth-placed Villarreal on Sunday. France forward Griezmann struck his 15th league goal of the campaign in the fifth minute after stealing the ball, surging forward from midfield and cracking a precise low shot into the bottom corner. Midfielder Saul Niguez, returning from injury, nodded a second in the 39th before Cordoba had a couple of decent efforts in the second half but could not avoid slipping to a 10th successive reverse.