Atletico Madrid second in La Liga

Madrid, Sep 27 (IANS):

Atletico Madrid moved into second place in the Spanish football La Liga after a 4-1 away win against Real Betis.

The first half Wednesday saw Betis open the scoring with a 26th minute goal from Salvador Agra, whose ball from the left missed the Betis strikers but fooled Atletico goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo to end up in the back of the net, reports Xinhua.

The lead lasted barely four minutes before Radomal Falcao stabbed home a cross-shot from Raul Garcia.

Betis then turned on the pressure. Asenjo had to be at his best to keep his side in contact.

But his efforts were in vain as Juan Carlos put Betis back in front in the first minute of the second half with a large dose of fortune.

His cross flicked off Atletico defender Juanfran Torres, leaving Asenjo stranded.

Betis’ lead was short-lived. This time Pepe Mel’s side suffered a double blow as referee Alvarez Izquierdo decided that Damien Perquis’ challenge on Falcao needed a penalty and a red card.

Falcao stepped up to score from the penalty spot and level the scores.

Against 10 men, things were a lot easier for Atletico. They quickly replaced Falcao, who had suffered from a muscle problem during the week, with Diego Costa.

Costa wasted no time in making his mark when he put the visitors ahead in the 54th minute, after breaking the Betis offside trap.

The home side looked to get back in the match but were reduced to nine men after an error from the referee who showed a second yellow card to Joel Campbell for handball when it should have been a penalty for Betis as Felipe had handled first.

Against nine men, Raul Garcia added a fourth goal for Atletico in injury time to leave them unbeaten this season, just two points behind Barcelona in the league table.