In-form Atletico ease to 3-0 victory at lowly Girona
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Dec 21 - Atletico Madrid eased to a 3-0 victory at Girona in LaLiga on Sunday thanks to first-half goals from Koke and Conor Gallagher and one in added time from substitute Antoine Griezmann as they ended the year with a fourth straight win in all competitions.
The visitors provisionally rose to third, two points above Villarreal, who have three games in hand and host leaders Barcelona later on Sunday. Relegation-threatened Girona, who have won only one of their last five games, remained 18th.
Atletico targeted Girona with crosses into the area from the start and it paid off in the 13th minute when midfielder Koke hammered home with his right foot from outside the box after Arnau Martinez botched an attempted clearance from the right.
Girona almost equalised 10 minutes later but Atletico keeper Jan Oblak was quick on his feet as he dived to his left and blocked Axel Witsel's close-range attempt with one hand, keeping out the hosts' only shot on target in the first half.
Atletico doubled their lead in the 38th through Gallagher, who came on for the injured Nico Gonzalez before the half-hour. Julian Alvarez set up Gallagher for a shot from the edge of the box and the ball deflected off Girona defender Vitor Reis.
Griezmann, who replaced Marcos Llorente in the 78th minute, played a one-two with fellow substitute Giacomo Raspadori before firing past keeper Paulo Gazzaniga with his left foot to wrap up the win with his sixth LaLiga goal of the season.
Atletico next visit Real Sociedad on January 4, five days before a Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash with Real Madrid. REUTERS
