Rayo thrash Atletico who 'deserved to lose'

Rayo Vallecano claimed a decisive 3-0 win against Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, placing Diego Simeone's squad 15 points behind frontrunners Real Madrid.

Atletico fell to fourth following their resounding loss at Leganes's Butarque stadium, the venue chosen by Rayo owing to surface issues at their Vallecas home.

Fran Perez, Oscar Valentin, and Nobel Mendy all scored for Rayo, who fully merited their success over an Atletico team fresh from a 4-0 Copa del Rey demolition of champions Barcelona on Thursday.

Seeing the Spanish cup as their prime opportunity for a trophy this campaign, Atletico seem to have misplaced some concentration in league fixtures, a fact highlighted by this setback against their local opponents.

The Rojiblancos remain without a victory in their most recent three league encounters.

"The title race appears distant now, we must avoid results like this and displays like the one we produced today," vented Atletico custodian Jan Oblak to DAZN.

"Battling on like this will prove difficult, you cannot pick and choose your efforts, each fixture demands top quality...

"They dominated us today, credit where due, we were beaten and it was justified."

Simeone, who shuffled the lineup significantly from the Barcelona victors with a Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge looming on Wednesday, pushed back on parts of Oblak's assessment.

"I disagree with that view, the group delivered all they had, they were stronger overall, yet there is no cause to question their commitment, endeavour, or intent," Simeone remarked.

"We fell short, the rivals excelled, hats off to them, and we turn our attention to midweek."

Inigo Perez's Rayo went ahead in the 40th minute as Perez converted Andrei Ratiu's pass, then Valentin extended the lead after Clement Lenglet misplaced possession.

Mendy added a third goal in the 76th minute, exploiting additional Atletico defensive errors to conclude a dismal outing for Simeone's players.

Rayo, with squad members and the backroom team voicing concerns lately about club governance, along with the condition of Vallecas and training setups, advanced to 16th position.

"This is a toughened outfit that copes effectively with varying conditions," commented Rayo manager Perez.

"The encounter today posed real challenges, stemming from both the adversaries and our internal organisational and competitive issues."