Struggling Rayo stun Atletico 3-0 amid fan boycott

Madrid, Feb. 17: Struggling Rayo Vallecano upset Atletico Madrid 3-0 in La Liga on Sunday in a stunning win watched by only around 5,000 people because of a protest by Rayo fans. 

It was Atletico's second consecutive Spanish league loss but came only three days after it had routed Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals at home. Coach Diego Simeone rested some of his regular starters after Thursday's match against Barcelona.

The result dropped Atletico to fourth place, behind Villarreal, Barcelona and Real Madrid, which won 4-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday. Atletico trails Madrid by 15 points after 24 rounds. Barcelona can retake the lead and move one point ahead of Madrid if it wins at Girona on Monday.

"It feels like we've given up in the league," Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. "We can't lose games like this and play like this. It's going to be difficult to compete this way. You can't choose games, you always have to play at your best, you have to win, and I get the feeling we're not doing that."

Simeone did not agree with Oblak's comments that appeared to suggest it was a mistake to rest players.

"The team isn't choosing games," Simeone said. "We competed poorly, and when you compete poorly, the opponent plays better than you and beats you."

Rayo, which hadn't beaten Atletico in 19 straight games since 2013, moved out of the relegation zone with the victory, which ended a four-game losing streak for the team in all competitions.

Valencia scored twice in the second half to win 2-0 at city rival Levante. The result, which ended a three-game losing streak for Valencia across all competitions, moved the club out of the relegation zone and up to 14th place. Levante, which has only one win in six league matches, stayed in 19th place.

Fifth-place Real Betis picked up its fourth win in five matches across all competitions by beating Mallorca 2-1 on the road with first-half goals from Abde Ezzalzouli and Cedric Bakambu.

Napoli salvage draw

Donyell Malen scored his second brace in a row for Roma but host Napoli twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw in Serie A on Sunday.

The result kept Napoli in third place, three points ahead of Roma after 25 rounds.

Leader Inter Milan beat fifth-place Juventus 3-2 on Saturday for its sixth straight win in all competitions, increasing its gap to rival AC Milan to eight points. Napoli is three points behind AC Milan, which has a game in hand.

Malen, the Dutch forward who signed on loan from Aston Villa in the winter transfer window, also scored twice in Roma's 2-0 win against Cagliari on Feb. 9.

Malen opened the scoring Sunday in the seventh minute, then converted a 71st-minute penalty kick in Roma's only two attempts on target.

Leonardo Spinazzola scored for Napoli in the 40th and substitute Alisson Santos sealed the draw in the 82nd with a right-footed shot from about 25 meters (yards) out.

Arsenal rout Wigan 4-0 

Arsenal enjoyed a 4-0 rout of Wigan as five Premier League teams avoided upsets to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Third-tier struggler Wigan was overwhelmed against the Premier League leader in front of a 60,000 crowd at Emirates Stadium, with all the goals coming in the first half.

Forwards Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus were on the scoresheet along with Jack Hunt's own-goal as he tried to cut out a cross from Bukayo Saka.

Big-money summer signing Eberechi Eze set up two goals for Arsenal, which won the last of its record 14 FA Cups in 2020. Wigan won the FA Cup for the first and only time in 2013, beating Manchester City 1-0 in the final, but was relegated from the Premier League in the same season.

Premier League teams Fulham, Leeds, Sunderland and Wolverhampton joined the Gunners in the last 16.

Fulham rallied to win 2-1 at second-tier Stoke, with Harrison Reed slotting in a late winner after intercepting Stoke goalkeeper Tommy Simkin's misjudged pass. Brazilian winger Kevin equalized for Fulham early in the second half after South Korean midfielder Bae Jun-ho's early goal for Stoke.

Midfielder Habib Diarra's penalty earned Sunderland a 1-0 win at second-tier struggler Oxford, and midfielder Santiago Bueno's goal gave Wolves a 1-0 victory at fourth-tier Grimsby at a soggy and rain-soaked Blundell Park.

Leeds needed penalty kicks to win at second-tier Birmingham after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and extra time.

German forward Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead early in the second half after being set up by Noah Okafor, but Patrick Roberts equalized in the 89th minute with a powerful shot.

In the shootout, Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri denied Tommy Doyle before Roberts blazed over, leaving Sean Longstaff to score and send Daniel Farke's side through 4-2. (AP)