Atletico Madrid skip past Getafe courtesy of Griezmann's double
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone hailed his in-form striker Antoine Griezmann after the Frenchman scored a brace in the 2-0 win over Getafe.
Griezmann's goals came at the start and the end of the game at the Vicente Calderon and took him to six goals for the season in all competitions. The former Real Sociedad striker overcame a slow start to life at Atletico last year to end the campaign on a high as the club's top scorer on 25 goals, and he is on track to better that record in his second term in the Spanish capital after netting six times in just five matches.
"Griezmann is in very good form; he has grown a lot since he came here and he is a vital player for us right now," Simeone told a press conference.
The Argentine coach also gave a glowing assessment of midfielder Tiago Mendes, who gave Atletico more control in midfield after replacing Oliver Torres midway through the second half. Making his 200th appearance for the club, Tiago also provided the through ball for Jackson Martinez to square to Griezmann for the second goal.
"Tiago is a vital player for us - he is the brain of our team," said Simeone. "He understands what the team needs and you only gain something like that with age. When he came on the team changed and stopped suffering by imagining that our opponents could score. We improved and were in the driving seat in the game from then on."
Simeone again chose Fernando Torres ahead of Martinez, the club's most expensive summer signing, but the coach also praised the Colombian.
"He did very well after coming on - he gave the assist for Griezmann's goal and he is working with enthusiasm and excitement so that he can match the expectations placed on him," Simeone added.
Espanyol 1, Valencia 0
Further pressure was piled on Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santo as his side were beaten 1-0 at Espanyol, with Victor Alvarez's first-half goal proving the difference.
Los Che made a bright start to the game but were lucky not to concede more goals as the game went on and were grateful to young goalkeeper Jaume Domenech for keeping the damage to a single goal. Valencia were the first side to cause danger and Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez made the first of a string of important saves throughout the 90 minutes, keeping out an early shot from Zacharia Bakkali and then thwarting Rodrigo Moreno.
But it was the Catalans who took the lead on 17 minutes. Real Madrid loanee Marco Asensio curled a free-kick into the box that was deflected towards the far post by Valencia's Santi Mina, and Alvarez swept in to head home from a yard out. Espanyol grew in confidence after going ahead and could have got a second before the break but Valencia goalkeeper Domenech made two smart saves in quick succession, keeping out Alvaro Gonzalez's header and Asensio's drive from long range.
Valencia improved at the start of the first half, with Rodrigo forcing another save from Lopez, but Espanyol dominated the latter stages, with Felipe Caicedo squandering a fine chance to double their advantage and Domenech also denying Hernan Perez and keeping away the follow-up effort from Asensio.
Valencia's most disgruntled fans were already calling for coach Nuno Santo Espirito to be fired after his team drew its last league game. Now, with only one win in five rounds and a losing start to the Champions League group phase, the manager will face a critical test at Mestalla Stadium against Granada on Friday.
''We have to turn this around as soon as possible and that means on Friday,'' Espirito Santo said.
Imanol Agirretxe scored a hat-trick as Real Sociedad recorded their first win of the season 3-0 at Granada on Tuesday evening.
The 28-year-old forward put the visitors ahead in the seventh minute when he got behind David Zurutuza's cross and struck the ball into the bottom-right corner of the net, out of reach of Granada goalkeeper Andres Fernandez. La Real, coached by former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes, doubled their lead in the 32nd minute.
A misplaced back-pass from Granada's Brazilian defender Doria towards his goalkeeper was intercepted by Agirretxe, who struck from close range past a helpless Fernandez. Granada had their only attempt on goal in the game in the 43rd minute, with Youssef El-Arabi's 30-yard effort saved by Real Sociedad goalkeeper Oier Olazabal.
La Real, who had clinched just two points from their opening four games, continued to play well after the restart. Sergio Canales should have made it 3-0 before the hour but failed to beat Fernandez in a one-on-one.
Agirretxe squandered another chance for the visitors in the 62nd minute when a fast counter-attack saw the striker play a one-two with Carlos Vela, only to see his close-range effort go wide. However, Agirretxe made no mistake 11 minutes from time when he surged into the area and got past his marker before drilling a right-footed shot past Fernandez to silence the crowd at the Los Carmenes stadium.
La Real have now clinched five points from five games, two points more than Granada.