By IANS
Madrid : A 5-1 win away to chaotic Valencia kept Real Madrid well out on top in Spanish Primera Liga football, reports DPA.
Real’s Wednesday night triumph, the club’s biggest in the Mestalla Stadium for more than 40 years, leaves them with 25 points from 10 games, four points ahead of Villarreal, who beat bottom team Levante 3-0.
Valencia slipped to fifth with 18 points.
Veteran strikers Raul Gonzalez and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, helped by livewire winger Robinho, tore the injury-hit Valencia defence to shreds.
As a contest, the match was over by half-time with Real already 4-0 up. Many Valencia fans went home early — to dream of new coach Ronald Koeman, signed from top Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, rebuilding their tattered team.
Earlier Wednesday, Koeman had agreed to leave PSV and sign a two-and-a-half year contract with Valencia, where he will clearly have to work hard to restore morale.
Valencia sacked Quique Sanchez Flores Monday and put nursery team coach Oscar Fernandez on the bench for the game against Real. It turned out to be a night in the limelight that Fernandez would want to forget quickly.
Atletico Madrid, currently joint second in the La Liga on 20 points with Catalan giants Barcelona, kept up their good form by beating Sevilla 4-3 in Wednesday’s late game.
Atletico won the seven-goal thriller with goals from Maniche, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez. Luis Fabiano scored twice for Sevilla, while third was an own goal by Atletico defender Ze Castro.
Earlier Wednesday, Real Zaragoza had moved up to seventh with a 1-0 win away to Almeria, courtesy of a penalty put away just 12 minutes from time by Diego Milito.
In Wednesday’s other matches, Getafe beat fellow relegation prospects Athletic Bilbao, while Osasuna romped to a 3-0 win away to troubled Real Betis — increasing the pressure on Betis coach Hector Cuper.
Mallorca battled out a 1-1 draw away to Deportivo la Coruna, and Racing Santander escaped from Huelva with a point after a goalless stalemate.
Levante are rock bottom with just one point. Valladolid have six, Getafe and Betis eight. Then come Deportivo and Huelva on nine, with Bilbao on 10.