Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth struck twice to give the home side a comfortable 2-0 victory over struggling Real Oviedo in LaLiga on Saturday, extending Diego Simeone's winning streak to seven matches in all competitions.
The Norwegian striker needed just 26 minutes to wrap up the points against the bottom side, who have managed only two competitive wins all season.
The victory extended Atletico's unbeaten LaLiga run to 13 matches and lifted them to third on 31 points, one point behind Real Madrid who visit Girona on Sunday. Barcelona top the table on 34 points and will host Atletico at Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Sorloth opened the scoring in the 16th minute when David Hancko crossed low and the striker fired home from close range.
Ten minutes later, the forward used his physical presence to devastating effect, dominating inside the box and brushing off a defender before firing past goalkeeper Aaron Escandell for his second after another Hancko delivery from the left.
Following Atletico's 2-1 Champions League victory over Inter Milan in midweek, Atletico barely broke sweat against an Oviedo side rooted to the bottom with nine points from 14 games.
Simeone's side have been unbeaten in the league since their opening-day loss at Espanyol in August and now have a chance to make a statement against last season's champions that could confirm them as being genuine title contenders.