Joao Felix scored twice in his first match back from injury as Atletico Madrid routed Osasuna 5-0 to end their winless streak and regain fourth place in La Liga.
Felix scored a goal in each half to lead Atletico to their first win after three consecutive league draws. The Portugal forward had been nursing a sprained left knee and had not played since the league resumed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Marcos Llorente, Alvaro Morata and Yannick Carrasco also scored for Atletico, who had dropped outside the Champions League places following their slump.
“We needed this victory to boost the team’s morale,” Felix said. “And it was important for me as well, to give me more confidence. After three months without playing and after the injury, it was good to return with a pair of goals.”
Diego Simeone’s team eliminated defending champions Liverpool in the round of 16 of the Champions League just before the pandemic break, but they had won only two of their last nine league games. They hadn’t won any of their last five away matches in the league.
The victory kept Atletico 15 points behind leaders Barcelona — who defeated Leganes 2-0 on Tuesday — but moved the team two points behind third-place Sevilla, who drew 1-1 at Levante on Monday. Real Sociedad can get past Atletico again for fourth place if they win at Alaves on Thursday.
“That’s our goal right now, to keep fighting for the Champion League places so we can be in the tournament again next season,” Felix said.
Atletico are 10 points behind second-place Real Madrid ahead of their rivals’ home game against Valencia on Thursday.
Results
Tuesday
Getafe 0 Espanyol 0
Villarreal 1 Mallorca 0
Barcelona 2 Leganes 0
Wednesday
Eibar 2 Athletic Bilbao 2
Valladolid 0 Celta Vigo 0
Osasuna 0 Atletico 5
Fixtures
Thursday
Alaves v Sociedad
Madrid v Valencia
Friday
Granada v Villarreal
Mallorca v Leganes
Sevilla v Barcelona
