Atletico Madrid beats Valencia 3-0

With veteran striker Fernando Torres watching his team play just three days after collapsing on the field, Atletico Madrid comfortably defeated Valencia 3-0 to regain fourth place.

Antoine Griezmann scored a goal in each half and Kevin Gameiro added another as Atletico rebounded from two winless games and again moved into position to fight for a Champions League spot.

It was Atletico’s first game since Torres dropped to the ground unconscious after going up for a challenge and then hitting his head on the ground late in the match at Deportivo La Coruna on Thursday.

Torres was motionless for several moments at the Riazor Stadium in La Coruna. The 32-year-old forward was immediately hospitalised, but escaped any serious head or spine injuries and was released a day later.

Torres stood up and applauded the crowd after it loudly chanted his name at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Torres, who won two European Championships and one World Cup with Spain, is expected to be cleared to return to training this week.

Griezmann scored in the 10th and 83rd minutes, while Gameiro got on the board in the 48th.

Saturday Leganes-Granada .............................. 1-0 Eibar-Real Madrid ............................. 1-4 Villarreal-Espanyol ............................ 2-0 Barcelona-Celta Vigo ......................... 5-0 Yesterday Sp. Gijon-D. La Coruna ...................... 0-1 At. Madrid-Valencia .......................... 3-0 Las Palmas-Osasuna .......................... 5-2 At. Bilbao-Malaga .............................. 1-0 Today Alaves-Sevilla .........................................

Standings

Barcelona Real Madrid Sevilla At. Madrid R. Sociedad Villarreal Ath. Bilbao Eibar Espanyol Celta Vigo Alaves Las Palmas Valencia Betis Malaga Leganes D. La Coruna Granada Sp. Gijon Osasuna P 26 25 25 26 26 26 26 26 26 25 25 26 26 25 26 26 25 26 26 26 W 18 18 17 14 15 12 12 11

9 10 8 8 8 7 6 6 5 4 4 1 D L F A Pts 6 2 76 21 60 5 2 67 26 59 4 4 49 29 55 7 5 48 22 49 3 8 42 36 48 9 5 38 19 45 5 9 32 30 41 6 9 42 37 39 9 8 35 35 36 5 10 39 44 35 9 8 25 31 33 8 10 40 41 32 5 13 35 46 29 6 12 27 41 27 8 12 32 43 26 6 14 21 40 24 8 12 28 40 23 7 15 24 54 19 5 17 27 55 17 7 18 27 64 10