MADRID: Atletico Madrid followed up their surprise win over Liverpool by beating Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday as Joao Felix marked his return from injury with a first league goal since September.

Felix came off the bench at the Wanda Metropolitano after almost a month out with an ankle problem and the 20-year-old looked refreshed as he drove in Atletico’s third in an impressive 3-1 victory.

Kieran Trippier was also back after recovering from a groin injury and he was involved in Atletico’s second goal as Koke headed in.

Angel Correa had earlier cancelled out Paco Alcacer’s strike for Villarreal.

Atletico’s inconsistency this season means they are out of the title race, 12 points adrift of leaders Barcelona, who thrashed Eibar 5-0 on Saturday.

But momentum would be timely as Atleti bid to consolidate their place in the top four and capitalise on their 1-0 advantage against Liverpool next month in the Champions League last 16.

Diego Simeone’s side move up to third in La Liga, level on points with Sevilla, who earlier struck a superb 3-0 win away at fellow top-four rivals Getafe.

Alcacer, who joined Villarreal from Borussia Dortmund last month, gave the away side the lead with a brilliant shot from the edge of the box in the 16th minute but Correa levelled before half-time, flicking in after a mistake by Raul Albiol.

Koke completed the turnaround in the 64th minute, heading in Correa’s chip after Trippier had cut it back to the Argentinian from the right. Felix then added a third with a driven shot, which squirmed through Villar­real goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.

Sevilla delivered a huge boost to their own hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League by beating Getafe for their first victory in six matches.

A poor run of form had threatened to kill Sevilla’s chances of securing a place in Europe’s premier tournament but they dismantled usually solid Getafe with goals from Lucas Ocampos, Fernando Reges and Jules Kounde.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2020