Atletico Madrid have run out 5-0 winners over Real Betis in La Liga this evening.
Oliver Torres marked his first start with a goal after 14 minutes before David Villa added a second seven minutes after the break.
Villa then scored his second four minutes after his first before Diego Costa added a fourth.
Deep into injury time, Gabi scored Atletico's fifth as they closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to just one point.
See how it all unfolded below.
That's pretty much all from me. I hope you have the commentary. Until next time, bye for now.
A great night's work for Atletico; a dominant performance, Villa has ended his goal drought and they go to within a point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Different class in the second half.
Gabi gets his name on the scoresheet after Adrian's shot was beaten straight into his path on the edge of the box. I think the referee decided enough was enough and called for time straight away.
FULL TIME: Atletico Madrid 5-0 Real Betis
GOAL: Aletico Madrid 5-0 Real Betis (Gabi)
The corner evades everyone and was crying out for a touch goalwards. It surely would have been 5-0 had it got one.
Lovely take by Cedrick again wide left, and he tries to play in Nosa but he can't get his shot off and it is cleared. Atleti go up the other end and win a corner.
Sloppy from Nono and then Villa, with the former overrunning it before the latter gave it away. Both teams are crawling towards the final whistle here.
Adrian tries to chip in Raul Garica in the box but he cannot get a good enough connection on it and Garcia tries to head it back, but he doesn't get near it.
Juanfran gets in the way of Nosa, and then eventually ends up with the ball, but he seems to be in a spin and he runs it out while trying to pass it back to a teammate. Not his finest moment.
Atleti have dropped off here, but Betis cannot take advantage. They have a corner but it is easily cleared again.
Lovely angled ball into to Cedrick who escapes the challenge of Godin, but he handles it when trying to control.
Villa is nearly in for his third, but he strayed marginally offside. It was tight.
Cedrick clips it to the back post for Nosa, but it is well cleared. Betis have a corner which Nono takes but Courtois gathers easily.
Atletico are proving this evening that they are a finely tuned outfit. They do not have the budget of their neighbours Real Madrid, but they are a great team.
SUB: Diego Costa gets a standing ovation as Raul Garcia comes on in his place.
Chuli goes down holding his face in the area after a come together with Miranda. I think he was looking for a penalty, but the referee had none of it. He is still down a minute later.
CHANCE! Nearly Villa's hat-trick. Adrian Lopez cushions it on the chest to set up Villa in the area, but he can't get hold of the effort and Anderson saves in the Betis goal.
Cedrick nearly escapes past Miranda in the area with a burst of pace, but the Brazilian gets back and comes away with the ball. Good recovery from the defender.
Nono fires in a powerful attempt from range, but it is always going wide. That's about the closest Betis have come to scoring too. They have been toothless upfront this evening.
Atletico are well in control now. This could be five or six if they keep it up. Felipe nearly gets in but it is cleared inside the box.
SUB: Koke makes way for Christian Rodriguez.
That's now 11 goals for Diego Costa this season. More than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. That takes some doing, a top striker in outstanding form.
Villa finds a pocket of space and threads a through ball for his strike partner. It's terrible defending, but the forward gets in the area and scuffs it into the far corner. Well and truly game over now.
GOAL: Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Betis (Diego Costa)
SUB: Valdillo off for Nono for Betis.
Courtois throws it straight to Nosa on the edge of the box but he can't do anything with it. The keeper seemed to be caught in two minds there and his throw was awful.
SUB: Oliver Torres off for Adrian Lopez. Great debut for the teenager.
Villa now on a hat-trick and I can definitely see the former Barcelona and Valencia man getting another chance claim it this evening.
Koke takes it 20+ yards and tries to release Torres, but it is intercepted and it falls to Villa inside the box, he takes his time, beats a man and rifles it in with his left foot. Two in less than five minutes for Villa. He is back.
GOAL: Atletico Madrid 3-0 Real Betis 0 (David Villa)
BOOKING: Cedrick goes in the book for dissent.
Atletico are averaging over three goals at game at home, and who bet against them adding that to their tally tonight? 2-0 up with well over half an hour to play.
Lovely interchange between Gabi and Felipe, and the full-back clips a ball in for the striker who steals a yard on his marker and glances a header into the far corner. Well worked goal. Villa's first goal in eight games.
GOAL: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Betis (David Villa)
The corner comes to nothing though and Atletico come away with it. Subdued start to the second period here. Total contrast to the first of course.
Cedric wins a corner after he hounded out of possession wide left for Betis.
Not a lot to report back with so far in this second half. Juanfran drills a volley in wide right, but Anderson, who has replaced Sara in the Betis goal beats it away with his fists.
KICKOFF And we're underway here.
The two teams have emerged onto the pitch for the second half.
You can of course, catch all of the reports from today's games on the Sports Mole homepage.
UPDATE: Today's Premier League results are as follows: Sunderland 2-1 Newcastle United, Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City, Swansea City 0-0 West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Hull City.
UPDATE: Lazio are currently being held by Cagliari 0-0 at the Stadio Olympico in Serie A, while Saint Etienne are leading Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
UPDATE Turning our attentions to the rest of La Liga, the result today are as follows; Villarreal 4-1 Valencia, Sevilla 2-1 Osasuna, Real Sociedad 3-0 Almeria.
As I said during the first half, it has been fairly even apart from the goal. Although Atleti look to have the greater quality up front. They have created the best chances.
Torres will never forget this game for the rest of his career. A debut goal after 14 seconds. What a story for the 18-year-old. The goal aside, he looks a real prospect.
Big waste from Koke again, as he plays the corner short, with the last kick of the half. Surely he'd have been better off just putting it into the box. Anyway, Atleti lead through Oliver Torres' first Atleti on his first start.
HALF TIME: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Betis.
SAVE! Big save from Sara, Nose loses possession to Koke on the halfway line and the midfielder drives it forward and free Diego Costa, Sara closes the angle well and gets a hand to it. Big big save. Perhaps he should have scored though.
We're edging towards the end of the first half here. It's been fairly even other than the first 14 seconds, but Atletico will be more than happy with this.
Diego Costa catches one on the volley on the edge of the box, but it is closed down and blocked. There was some venom behind that strike.
Really poor defending from Figueras, as he tried to roll it back to his keeper and didn't touch it as Costa ran past him, he then tugs at the striker's shirt but he manages to get the shot in as he goes down. Had he not shot, the referee would surely have blew for a penalty.
CHANCE! Probably should be 2-0. Diego Costa with a strong, direct run takes it past Figueras and the striker can't get it inside the near post. Perhaps he could have had a penalty.
Superb reading of the play from Godin wins it back on the halfway line for Atleti. He needed to make the challenge as there was space for Betis, and he did.
Tiago tries to pick of David Villa with a stabbed through ball, but it is too long and trickles out for a goal kick.
Atletico get a freekick inside the Betis box and load the penalty area with players, but Koke plays it short, gets it back and wastes it with a poor cross that hits the first man.
Strong run from Nosa, carries it 30 yards or so, and he muscles out Juanfran and plays in his Betis teammate with the same name, but he loses out to Felipe on the edge of the box.
David Villa meets a cross with a looping header that forces Sara to scramble over the bar. Atleti cannot do anything with the resulting corner though.
Tiago finds Felipe with a crossfield pass, and the full-back steams onto it, but cannot keep it in. Atleti are progressing well down that left though. It could yield some joy this evening.
Betis are playing some neat stuff, but it is all in front of Atletico, and they have not got anywhere near the goal yet. It is comfortable for the home side.
Torres is roaming from his designated wide right position and he releases Koke down the right with a crossfield pass, but the ball eventually gets put out of play.
BOOKING: Nosa goes into the book. First yellow card of the evening.
Diego Costa has gone down and stayed down under a challenge from Nosa. The Betis man goes into the book for the challenge. His studs were quite high there.
Torres shows why he is so highly regarded, the teenager dances inside from the right and releases Diego Costa with a flick, but the striker is closed out by Betis. They're building the momentum now though.
CHANCE! Should be 2-0, no question. Free header for Godin but he can't get his neck around it enough and it goes wide. Big chance for the home side goes begging.
David Villa gets it in that inside left channel and cuts inside, but then shifts it with a backheel to release the oncoming Felipe but he can't get the cross in for Torres to score.
There's a few tasty tackles flying around in midfield here. Both teams sturggling to gain a foot on the ball. It eventually goes out for a throw in.
Juanfran with a poor clearance gives it to Villa on the edge of the box, he shifts and shoots but it is never troubling Sara's goal.
Chuli with a smart turn inside the area nearly gives him the roon to get a shot off, but it is blocked well by Felipe. Betis are the better side here.
Betis have acquitted themselves quite well since the goal, but it must so annoying for them to think that a lapse in concentration from the off has put them a goal down with 89 minutes still to play.
A long freekick comes over to Figueras wide inside the box and he goes for the spectacular left-footed volley but it goes out for a throw in. Ambitious effort to say the least.
Betis try to play an intricate move on the edge of the box, but Nosa loses out to Diego Godin and he hammers clear, no nonsense.
Diego Costa tries to surge away from two tackles and nearly succeeds, but he is tugged back and wins a freekick in his own half.
We've just about caught our breath here. What a fanstastic start for Simeone's side. They might have well have started a goal up. 14 seconds officially the goal is marked at. Quickest this season. It is unlikely to be beaten.
WOW! what a start, 15 seconds in and Oliver Torres turns it home after a rampant start from the home side. It was a a pass by Diego Costa to release Koke and he slid it through for Torres to tap in.
GOAL: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Betis (Oliver Torres).
KICKOFF
Of course, stranger things have happened in football than a Betis win at Atleti, so we shall see, we're minutes away from the kickoff.
PREDICTION: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Betis.
PREDICTION: I cannot look past an Atletico win this evening. Betis have the incentive of getting out the relegation zone if they win, but there is a reason they are there to begin with, and if Simeone's side are to have serious claims on the title, these are the bread and butter games.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said before today that Atletico are genuine title contenders, although most around the Atleti camp may be happy to play down their chances. They are a wonderful team to watch in full flow though. Plus they have brushed off the loss of star striker Radamel Falcao to Monaco admirably. Diego Costa is now very much the 'main man' at Vicente Calderon.
We're less than 10 minutes away from kickoff at Vicente Calderon.
Results today have seen Real Sociedad beat Almeria 3-0, while Sevilla beat Osasuna 2-1 and Villarreal hammered Valencia 4-1.
Elsewhere in La Liga this weekend; there was of course arguably the biggest game in club football in El Clasico. Barcelona emerged 2-1 winners over their fierce rivals, with goals from Neymar and Alexis Sanchez. Jese Rodriguez pulled one back for the visitors.
Betis come into this game on the back of last week's 1-0 win against Vitoria in the Europa League, while Atletico were surprisingly beaten 1-0 by Espanyol last week.
Diego Simeone's side are in great form at the moment; they have won five of their last six matches in La Liga, and overcame Austria Vienna 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
And what of Betis this season? well, they're struggling in La Liga. They are currently in the relegation zone and have lost two of their last three. A win tonight would see them escape the drop zone though.
The debate is raging at the moment as to who he will represent at next summer's World Cup, with both Spain and Brazil wrestling for the opportunity to select him. With those two world giants after him, it gives you an indication of just how good he is.
Of course, Atletico have one of the in-form strikers of European football at the moment in Diego Costa . The forward leads the La Liga scoring charts with 10 goals to his name.
So perhaps as expected, Simeone has named a strong lineup with the likes of Oliver Torres, Koke and David Villa in there.
Real Betis: Sara; Juanfran, Perquis, Jordi, Dídac; Lolo, Matilla, Nosa, Vadillo; Cedrick, Chuli.
Atletico Madrid: Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe; Gabi, Tiago; Koke, Oliver Torres; Villa, Diego Costa
We have some team news reaching us here, so without further ado...
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of tonight's La Liga match pitting Atletico Madrid against Real Betis.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of tonight's La Liga match pitting Atletico Madrid against Real Betis.
Written by
Paul Gorst
Paul Gorst
