Atletico Madrid moved top of Group C in the Champions League after they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Astana on Wednesday.
The Kazakh side’s night was always going to be tough, and so it proved as Saul Niguez delightfully backheeled Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco’s low cross into the back of the net midway through the first half.
Saul then turned provider six minutes later as his cross found Jackson Martinez, who patiently waited before picking his spot for his first Champions League goal of the season.
Substitute Oliver Torres was next to get on the scoresheet just after an hour, sending a perfectly-clipped lob over the goalkeeper from Gabi’s driving forward play, before Denis Dedychko completed the rout by putting through his own net at the death.
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Astana
Saul 23, Jackson 29, Oliver 63, Dedechko og 89
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Juanfran, Savic, Godin, Siqueira; Carrasco, Tiago (Oliver 46), Gabi, Saul; Jackson (Torres 67), Griezmann (Correa 58)
Astana: Eric; Beysebekoc, Ilic, Dedechko, Postnikov, Akhmetov; Shchetkin (Kulbekov 80), Muzhikov (Kozhamberdy 84), Zhukov (Pikalkin 64), Kethevoama; Kabananga
Referee: Kulbakov [BEL]