Atletico Madrid Rise to Third After Easy Victory Over Girona

Atletico Madrid advanced to third place in La Liga after securing a comfortable 3-0 triumph against Girona on Sunday.

Diego Simeones team surpassed fourth placed Villarreal, who will entertain league frontrunners Barcelona in a later fixture.

Kokes impressive long range goal, a deflected attempt by Conor Gallagher, and a closing strike from Antoine Griezmann reduced the gap to Barcelona to six points.

Atletico notched up a fourth successive victory in all competitions during an undemanding match at Gironas humble Montilivi ground.

"Im proud of the work we did today," Koke commented to Movistar.

"The team is taking a step forward and doing the things we need to do."

Marcos Llorente made a pleasing comeback to the Atletico lineup following his injury, and Simeones squad showed no signs of faltering against the 18th ranked opponents.

Koke got the scoring underway with a ferocious shot into the upper corner after receiving the ball beyond the penalty area, marking his 50th goal for Atletico.

"I dont shoot much, Im more of an assist provider," Koke confessed.

"However when it sits up like that, I only thought about shooting and luckily it went in."

Girona came close to levelling the score, but Atleticos Slovenian keeper Jan Oblak produced an outstanding stop to block an effort from Axel Witsel.

The ex Atletico defender unleashed a shot from seven yards, yet Oblak displayed rapid reactions to deny it.

Ex Chelsea player Conor Gallagher added the second just before halftime through a slick Atletico counter, his effort grazing Vitor Reis to loop inside the near upright.

Oblak executed another vital save to deny Alex Moreno with about 15 minutes left, maintaining Atleticos two goal lead.

Griezmann, appearing as a substitute in his typical role, sealed the result by coolly converting late in the game for his second strike in as many outings.