La Liga wrap: Espanyol return to winning ways

Espanyol toppled Atletico Madrid 4-2 while Malaga and Osasuna shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in La Liga on Sunday.

The late kick-off at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat pitted an Espanyol side that were winless in four against an Atletico side still reeling from their Copa Del Rey exit at the hands of third-tier outfit Albacete on Thursday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side started strongly, with Verdu bagging a double inside the first 10 minutes to give Espanyol a 2-0 lead.

Ivorian midfielder Christian Romaric then made it 3-0 on 19 minutes and there appeared to be no way back for Gregorio Manzano’s Atletico.

And although Rodrigo Falcao’s header gave them a lifeline ahead of the break, a mazy run that was aided by two deflections and a couple of deft touches saw Sergio Garcia restore Espanyol’s three-goal advantage on 54 minutes.

Turkish midfielder Arda Turan thumped in a terrific volley with seven minutes left but it was no more than a consolation for an Atletico side who have now lost three of their last five matches.

Malaga rescued a point at home against Osasuna thanks to substitute Juanmi’s effort with 20 minutes to play, just eight minutes after he was introduced.

Senegalese forward Ibrahima Balde had given the visitors a first-half lead but it was not to be as they missed a chance to climb above Malaga on the league table.

Former Rangers striker Nacho Novo bagged a double as Sporting Gijon romped to a 3-1 win at Rayo Vallecano while the struggling Villarreal again failed to win, although they came from behind to earn a point in a 1-1 stalemate against Real Sociedad.

Victor’s first-half goal helped Mallorca to a 1-0 win at Real Zaragoza while Getafe won by the same scoreline, with Casquero’s strike 12 minutes from time sinking Granada.

Relegation-threatened Racing Santander managed to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao, with defender Alvaro Gonzalez scoring in the second minute of injury time for the second-bottom side.