Antoine Griezmann brace helps Atletico win at Las Palmas, stay top

DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images

---

A goal from Filipe Luis and a double from Antoine Griezmann gave Atletico Madrid a 3-0 win at struggling Las Palmas to keep them top of the Primera Division for another week.

Defender Luis sent Juanfran's pass into the far corner on 17 minutes to score his first goal since returning to Atletico from Chelsea, while on 68 minutes top scorer Griezmann finished off a through-ball from Koke to double the lead.

The France forward made the most of another precise pass from the midfielder in the last minute to round off the victory.

This was Atletico's fourth straight league win and, by keeping them ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Primera Division's summit, puts a positive shine on a difficult week off the pitch after the club received a transfer ban from FIFA for the transfer of under-age players.

Atletico were made to scrap right until the end in their previous three league victories over Rayo Vallecano, Levante and Celta Vigo, but here they enjoyed a more comfortable evening in the Canary Islands even though they made a poor start to the game.

Goalkeeper Jan Oblak had to make two saves in the space of a minute before Luis opened the scoring, first beating away a shot from Tana then repelling a long-range effort from Dani Castellano.

But Atletico took the lead five minutes later when Juanfran spread the play from the right of the area to his fellow full-back Luis, the Brazilian controlling with one touch before unleashing a powerful left-footed drive into the far bottom corner.

Later in the half Oblak had to be alert again to save another effort from Castellano, and both sides had half-hearted penalty appeals turned down before the break.

Griezmann should have doubled Atletico's lead shortly after the restart but was denied in a one-on-one by Las Palmas goalkeeper Javi Varas, and Las Palmas should have made the visitors pay.

Jonathan Viera's backheel allowed Castellano to swing the ball into the box towards Willian Jose, whose cushioned header fell to Roque Mesa, but he fired just wide of the post.

Atletico showed no such remorse and a minute later Koke took advantage of the hosts' high defensive line, threading the ball for Griezmann to run onto and knock past the outrushing Varas.

And the Frenchman finished off a similar move in the final minute, scoring his fifth goal in three games and his 18th of the season in all competitions.