BARCELONA — Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Top scorer Griezmann latched onto a through ball from Koke to arrow a first-time finish into the bottom corner in the 10th minute, while Gameiro notched his 10th league goal this season three minutes after the break with the help of a deflection.
Griezmann then rounded off the scoring in the 83rd when he pounced on an over-hit pass from teammate Thomas Partey and poked home to score his 12th league goal of the campaign.
It was a crucial victory for Atletico, which lost to Barcelona last weekend and suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna Thursday.
Club favorite Fernando Torres sat in the stands after recovering from head trauma sustained against Deportivo and was given a standing ovation by supporters in the second half.
Atletico is fourth in the La Liga standings on 49 points, one ahead of Real Sociedad, which won 3-2 at Real Betis Friday.
Freiburg pulls off shock win
Striker Florian Niederlechner netted both of Freiburg's goals in their shock 2-1 comeback win at Bundesliga high-flier Eintracht Frankfurt Sunday to leave them just outside the top six.
Eintracht crashed to only their second defeat at home this season despite taking an early lead when Sweden striker Branimir Hrgota converted their first chance on 11 minutes.
Freiburg, last season's Second Division champion, forced their way back into the game as Niederlechner rounded Frankfurt goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on 25 minutes to score.
Niederlechner netted again on 59 minutes for the winner when he finished off a flowing move, although replays showed he was offside.
The result lifts Freiburg to eighth — two points from the top six — and 23 points behind league leader Bayern Munich, which is seven clear of the chasing pack after Saturday's 3-0 win at Cologne.
Sixth-placed Frankfurt's next league game on Saturday is in Munich, having held Carlo Ancelotti's Bayern to a 2-2 draw when the teams last met in October. — Agencies
