La Liga: Atletico Thrash Valladolid 5-2 To Keep Pace With Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid triumphed over Real Valladolid in a thrilling 5-2 win on Sunday, moving closer to overtaking second-placed Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings.

The visitors started strong with Nahuel Molina, Jose Maria Gimenez, and Alvaro Morata all scoring goals, putting Atletico 3-0 ahead in the first 38 minutes.

Valladolid retaliated with Cyle Larin's penalty and Sergio Escudero's goal, but Atletico sealed their victory with Joaquin Fernandez's late own goal and a last-minute goal by Memphis Depay.

Although Atletico has little chance of catching up to LaLiga leaders Barcelona, they are looking to secure second place and have been performing strongly in recent matches.

Diego Simeone's team has won eight of their last nine games, with only one loss to Barcelona.

Elsewhere in LaLiga, Valencia's hopes of staying in the league took a hit with a 2-1 loss to Cadiz.

Valencia is now only two points and one place above the relegation zone, with Espanyol's 1-0 victory over Getafe preventing the six-time champions from falling into the bottom three.

Ruben Baraja's side is now only two points clear of the relegation zone.

In another game, Villarreal boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Celta Vigo, moving within five points of fourth-placed Real Sociedad.

Nicolas Jackson scored two goals, helping the Yellow Submarine to strengthen their grip on the Europa League spot and edge four points clear of Real Betis.

Barcelona continued their lead at the top of the table with a 4-0 win against Real Betis, maintaining their 11-point lead over Real Madrid.

Lastly, Espanyol ended their losing streak with a 1-0 win against Getafe, thanks to Joselu's first-half penalty.

The striker has scored 14 goals in the LaLiga season, putting him in third place behind Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema.