Falcao dismantles Athletic Bilbao

Madrid, Spain – Radamel Falcao netted a hat trick for Atletico Madrid as the club cruised to a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Vicente Calderon on Monday.

Falcao was a problem for the Athletic defense all game, and he opened his account after 20 minutes by turning with the ball past a defender inside the area and neatly chipping it beyond goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.

The Colombian should have found the net again nine minutes later, but he headed the ball over the net from seven yards with Iraizoz at his mercy.

However, Falcao made it 2-0 to Atletico shortly before halftime when Diego Godin floated a ball to the back post, where Falcao scored from a tight angle with a leaping volley.

The torment continued after the break as the striker tried to push a ball past defender Carlos Gurpegi, who stuck out his arm to stop it, awarding the home side a spot kick.

Falcao stepped to the spot and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to complete his hat trick, while Tiago added a fourth goal with a rocket from 20 yards in the final 10 minutes.

Valladolid 2, Levante 0

Valladolid, Spain - Valladolid made it two wins from two games on Monday with a 2-0 home victory over Levante that saw Victor Perez score both goals from the penalty spot.

Levante had trouble getting on track offensively, and Valladolid caused enough trouble in the opposing penalty area to secure the win.

The first big decision in the match came in the 38th minute when Levante's David Navarro handled the ball inside his own area, earning a second yellow card and giving Perez the chance to dispatch his spot kick past goalkeeper Gustavo Munua.

Playing with only 10 men, Levante struggled to sustain any possession in the second half, and the home side sealed the win in the 48th minute when Papakouli Diop brought down Valladolid's Omar Ramos inside the box, with Perez once again scoring from the spot.