Atletico Madrid’s La Liga hopes fade after a 3-0 defeat to city rivals Rayo Vallecano, with goalkeeper Jan Oblak admitting his side “deserved to lose”.
RAYO Vallecano delivered a stunning 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
The comprehensive victory left Diego Simeone’s side 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid and saw them drop to fourth in the table.
Fran Perez, Oscar Valentin and Nobel Mendy scored the goals for Rayo at Leganes’s Butarque stadium.
The hosts were forced to play at a neutral venue due to pitch problems at their own Vallecas ground.
The result was a stark contrast to Atletico’s form just days earlier, having thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the Copa del Rey.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak was scathing in his assessment of his team’s performance after the match.
“It seems like the league has slipped away, we can’t lose games like this and we can’t play a game the way we did today,” Oblak told DAZN.
“Today they were much better, congratulations to them, we lost and deserved to lose.”
Simeone, who rotated his squad ahead of a Champions League play-off, offered a more measured view.
“I thought the team gave what it could, they were better, but the truth is there is no need to criticise the team in terms of effort, work, of wanting to do well,” said Simeone.
Rayo took the lead in the 40th minute when Perez finished from Andrei Ratiu’s cross.
Valentin doubled the advantage after a mistake by Clement Lenglet, before Mendy added a third late on.
The win lifted Rayo to 16th place amid ongoing off-field issues at the club.
Players and staff have recently complained about the club’s management and poor training facilities.
Rayo coach Inigo Perez praised his team’s resilience in difficult circumstances.
“Today’s match was very tough both because of the opponent and because of our own institutional and sporting situation,” said Perez.
