Atletico Madrid beat Osasuna to close in on Barcelona

Posted on October 29, 2012 by SoccerPunter

Radamel Falcao hit his 10th goal of the Spanish Primera Division as Atletico Madrid beat Osasuna 3-1 convincingly on Sunday to stay level on points with leaders Barcelona at the top of Spain La Liga.

Barcelona had put pressure on Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the top by thrashing Rayo Vallecano 5-0 on Saturday. However, Atletico were always the better side in the Vicente Calderon where they recorded a 12th consecutive victory in all competitions.

Joao Miranda, with a glancing header, and a Raul Garcia strike gave the home side a two-goal advantage after 35 minutes before Roland Lamah pulled one back for Osasuna, who stay bottom of the La Liga table, just before half-time.

Falcao finished off any threat Osasuna posed on 73 minutes when he turned in a Juanfran cross for an incredible 17 goals in 11 consecutive games in all competitions.

Also on Sunday, Getafe won 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao and there were home wins for Zaragoza and Levante.

Juan Rodriguez and Alvaro Vazquez, with a scissor kick, got a goal in each half for Getafe in Bilbao against an out of sorts Athletic, for who Mikel San Jose got a last minute reply.

The result leaves the Basque side just one point above the relegation zone in 17th position while Getafe comfortably move into eighth on 13 points.

Levante beat Granada 3-1 to go fifth with two goals from ex-Newcastle player Obafemi Martins and a Pedro Rios strike, Youssef El Arabi got a late consolation for the visitors.

Portuguese striker Hector Postiga and Romanian full-back Cristian Sapunaru got the goals for Zaragoza in a 2-1 win over Sevilla.

Later Sunday, sixth-placed Real Madrid, who are 11 points behind Barcelona, were at Real Mallorca.