On Thursday, goals scored by Alexander Sorloth, Conor Gallagher, and Julián Álvarez enabled Atlético Madrid to secure a dominant 3 - 0 victory at home against their city rivals, Rayo Vallecano. This triumph significantly solidified their position in third place of LaLiga.

After suffering a 1 - 0 defeat at Las Palmas, which effectively dashed their league title aspirations, Diego Simeone's team made a strong comeback. The win propelled them to 66 points, giving them a six - point advantage over fourth - placed Athletic Club.

"It was a pretty entertaining match with attacking play and dangerous chances for both teams, which I'm sure we could have handled better," coach Simeone told reporters.

"In the second half, the team played with more order. The play that led to the third goal was exquisite."

Sorloth opened the scoring just three minutes in, heading home Giuliano Simeone's cross at the far post, and the Norwegian nearly doubled his tally four minutes later, only to be denied by Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla.

Gallagher then rose highest to nod in a pinpoint delivery from Rodrigo De Paul and double the lead shortly before the break, while Álvarez sealed the win in the 77th minute with a tidy finish from substitute Antoine Griezmann's assist.

"I am happy on a personal level. I try to improve every day. I don't look at statistics," said striker Álvarez, who has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season.

"We have to keep working... We know it's not easy [to win the league] we're a long way behind in the standings. We're focusing on ourselves."

The visitors threatened before halftime and continued to press throughout the second half, but efforts from Isi Palazon and Alvaro Garcia were denied by Jan Oblak, whose sharp saves proved vital in keeping Atlético's clean sheet.

The defeat leaves Rayo 11th with 41 points, five away from European spots.

"Despite the result, I think Rayo fans can feel proud," Rayo forward Palazon said. "We lacked a cutting edge in front of goal. We had our chances. They have great goalkeeper.

"We are ambitious. We show it. We have to keep going."