Atleti ease past Cordoba, Sevilla sink Bilbao
First-half goals from Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez saw Atletico Madrid win 2-0 at Spanish La Liga bottom side Cordoba to record their first away win in over two months. The France striker won the ball back in the Cordoba half to open the scoring inside five minutes, and then Saul marked his return from injury with a headed goal shortly before half-time, and the Andalusians could do little to prevent a te th straight defeat.
Atletico move on to 62 points thanks to the win to keep a four-point distance with Sevilla in fifth spot, while Cordoba remain languishing at the foot of the table, last picking up a point on 16 January. Sevilla at least ensured the gap behind Atletico did not get any bigger by notching a comfortable 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao to extend their winning run to six matches in all competitions.
Aleix Vidal pounced on a defensive lapse to open the scoring, before Carlos Bacca demonstrated his physical presence to double the hosts' advantage midway through the first half. Unai Emery's side's not only keeps the pressure on Atletico Madrid and Valencia above them, it also takes the wind out of Athletic's sails by ending their five-game winning streak.
David Barral's hat-trick fired Levante to a 4-1 win away at fellow strugglers Almeria, with Victor Casadesus also notching and Tomer Hemed giving the hosts some consolation from the spot.
The victory moves Levante three points clear of Almeria, who lie in the final relegation place in 18th. David Moyes' Real Sociedad extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a 1-1 draw at Malaga. Recio opened the scoring for the hosts ten minutes after the interval, but Sociedad substitute Ruben Pardo equalised for his side seven minutes from time.