Radamel Falcao continued his fine form since arriving in Spain as he bagged a brace to help Atletico Madrid beat Sporting Gijon 4-0.
Falcao, who joined from Porto for €47million (Dh234m) in the summer, has had an instant impact with his new side and has tucked away six goals in three games – including a hat-trick against Racing Santander last weekend.
Falcao was instrumental in Atleti’s first; a corner to the back post was turned goalwards by the Colombian, but it was Gijon right back Lora who turned the ball over the line.
Alvaro Dominguez headed in the second before Falcao set about putting the game to bed. First, he battled Lora to recover the ball in the area to despatch a low shot into the far corner before adding a tremendous headed effort eight minutes later. The Colombian goal-scoring machine has now scored a goal every 37 minutes for Atleti.
Santi Cazorla kept the Malaga revolution rolling with his fourth goal of the season. The diminutive winger, who joined from Villarreal over the summer, curled home a sublime free kick to give the Qatari-owned side a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at La Rosaleda.
It was Cazorla’s fourth goal from outside the area, and his third goal from a direct free-kick. The defeat leaves Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic in 17th spot with just one point from four games, with only the bright Iker Muniain offering any positives for the Basques.
Elsewhere, Levante kept up their impressive record over the Madrid sides with a 2-1 victory at newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano. After his goal downed Real Madrid on Sunday, Arouna Kone turned provider as his cross was headed home by Valdo after just 10 minutes.
Sergio Ballesteros turned in Bota Barkero’s corner to make it 2-0, before Raul Tamudo pulled one back for the hosts when he tucked away at the second attempt after his penalty was saved.
Pedro Botelho saw a straight red late on for Rayo for a bad lunge on Ballesteros, and side’s hopes followed him down the tunnel.
