La Liga Review: Atletico win Madrid derby, Levante off bottom

Atletico Madrid thrashed rivals Real Madrid 4-0, while Villarreal and Levante also won in La Liga on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid breathed life into La Liga’s title race with a thrashing of leaders Real Madrid, while Levante climbed off bottom in resounding fashion on Saturday.

Atletico were 4-0 winners over rivals Real, going 2-0 up in the 18th minute at the Vicente Calderon before second-half strikes to Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic.

Tiago and Saul scored four minutes apart early, the latter an early substitute for the injured Koke, and he produced a bicycle kick to double Atletico’s lead.

Griezmann tried a bicycle kick of his own early in the second half with less success, but Saul eventually assisted the France forward for Atletico’s third – Griezmann poking home in the 67th minute.

A Mandzukic header from Fernando Torres’ cross capped Atletico’s rout late on.

Levante trailed early to seventh-placed Malaga but stormed home to win 4-1 in front of their home faithful – their first league victory since November.

A David Barral hat-trick – aided by two penalties – lifted Levante, before Kalu Uche added their fourth goal in the 75th minute.

Villarreal moved level on points with Valencia in fifth, courtesy of a 2-0 home win over Granada – the latter sitting second-bottom after Levante’s success.

Celta de Vigo (10th) stayed above Real Sociedad (12th), after equalising late against them for a 1-1 draw.

Imanol Agirretxe’s eighth-minute opener was cancelled out late by Celta’s Nolito in the 85th minute, keeping the latter two points ahead of Sociedad.