Koke fires Atletico Madrid to victory at Rayo Vallecano to boost top-four push

It will not live in the memory like their victory at Old Trafford, but Atletico Madrid again won by a solitary goal on their travels, this time courtesy of Koke's second-half strike at Rayo Vallecanno. A local derby where neither goalkeeper was troubled greatly was lit up four minutes into the second half when Koke played the ball into the feet of Joao Felix, who then played a perfectly weighted return ball which the Spain international slotted just inside the far post.

Ad/> Randy Nteka had the best chance to equalise when Francisco Garcia found him with a low cross but he skewed his effort way off target. Champions League'I don’t know what happened' — Simeone unaware Man Utd fans were throwing things at him16/03/2022 AT 11:03 Rayo's chances were boosted with five minutes remaining when Angel Correa was sent off following an incident with Alejandro Catena off the ball.

The win puts Atleti up to third place, three points clear of Barcelona ahead of El Clasico on Sunday. Rayo Vallecano are in 13th in the table.

Liga table Liga fixtures / results Liga top scorers TALKING POINT Simeone has his Atleti back — Five weeks ago Atleti secured a last-minute winner in a seven-goal thriller against Getafe, which followed hot on the heels of a 4-2 reverse at Barcelona and a remarkable come-from-behind 3-2 win over Valencia. Now they are on a run of six wins from seven while conceding three goals.

Partly, a result of injuries, with Thomas Lemar injured and Yannick Carrasco suspended, Diego Simeone has played a less talented side but one capable of scraping out victories which they were not capable of doing earlier in the season. No one will be more delighted about this than the Argentine coach who will be already planning on eking out