Ilias Akhomach (L) of Vallecano vies with Matteo Ruggeri of Atletico de Madrid during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
MADRID, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid produced another poor away display on Sunday as Diego Simeone's side slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.
The loss came three days after Atletico's impressive first-leg win over FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinals. Simeone rotated heavily, but still named a strong starting lineup.
With Rayo's Vallecas pitch deemed unplayable, the match was moved to Leganes' Butarque Stadium. Despite home fans chanting for club president Martin Presa to resign, Rayo looked the more composed side and went 2-0 up at halftime thanks to goals from Fran Perez in the 40th minute and Oscar Valentin in the 45th. Nobel Mendy added a third in the 76th with a powerful header.
Rayo's win meant Valencia kicked off its local derby away to Levante inside the bottom three, but Carlos Corberan's side eased clear with a 2-0 victory thanks to two excellent second-half goals from Largie Ramazani and Umar Sadiq.
Valencia's win leaves Mallorca in the relegation zone after a 2-1 home defeat to Betis. Abde Ezzalzouli and Cedric Bakambu put Betis 2-0 up with goals in the 18th and 45th minutes, and although Vedat Muriqi pulled one back with a header in the 66th, Mallorca could not find an equalizer despite going close through Jan Virgili.
Athletic Bilbao made it two wins in two games with a 2-1 victory away to bottom side Oviedo. Oviedo were the better team before the break and Ilyas Chaira put the hosts ahead on the half hour, but Athletic responded after halftime with a superb strike from Mikel Jauregizar before Oihan Sancet converted a penalty following a clear handball in the Oviedo area.
On Saturday, Vinicius Jr. scored twice from the penalty spot as Real Madrid went top of La Liga with a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad. Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring and Fede Valverde added another, while Mikel Oyarzabal netted for the visitors.
Espanyol remains without a win in 2026 after a 2-2 home draw with Celta Vigo. Ferran Jutgla put Celta ahead in the 37th minute, Kike Garcia equalized in the 65th, and Tyrhys Dolan then gave Espanyol the lead before Borja Iglesias earned Celta a deserved point in stoppage time with a close-range finish.
Sevilla and Alaves shared the points in a bad-tempered 1-1 draw after Sevilla was reduced to 10 men in the 16th minute when Juanlu Sanchez was sent off. Djibril Sow gave Sevilla a 41st-minute lead, but Toni Martinez levelled for Alaves in the 59th. The game ended with Sevilla coach Matias Almeyda and midfielder Joan Jordan also sent off for protests from the touchline.
Elche and Osasuna began the weekend with a dull 0-0 draw, while FC Barcelona visits Girona on Monday night. ■
Oscar Valentin (3rd R) of Vallecano scores a goal with teammate Florian Lejeune during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Oscar Valentin (3rd R) of Vallecano scores during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Nobel Mendy (top) of Vallecano scores during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Nobel Mendy (2nd L) of Vallecano scores a goal during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Alvaro Garcia (R) of Vallecano vies with Jan Oblak of Atletico de Madrid during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Fran Perez (bottom) of Vallecano vies with Nahuel Molina of Atletico de Madrid during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Nobel Mendy (C) of Vallecano celebrates a goal with teammates during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Nobel Mendy (top) of Vallecano scores a goal during the La Liga football match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 15, 2026. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
