Griezmann hat trick helps Atletico Madrid ease past Sevilla

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Antoine Griezmann scored a hat trick as Atletico Madrid closed the gap on leaders Barcelona to seven points after beating Sevilla 5-2 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Diego Costa gave Atletico Madrid the lead in the 29th minute as he pounced on a poor back pass by the Sevilla defence to slam the ball past Sergio Rico.

Griezmann made it 2-0 with a stunning finish three minutes before half-time picking up a headed clearance on the edge of the box and curling his shot into the top left-hand corner.

The visitors wrapped the victory up five minutes after half-time with both goalscorers involved. Costa was brought down by Rico and Griezmann converted the penalty to give Madrid a 3-0 lead.

Another defensive howler gifted Atletico a fourth when Griezmann intercepted Gabriel Mercado's pass to his keeper and back-heeled it for the supporting Koke to score.

With nine minutes remaining, the France international completed his hat trick slotting home after being set up by Saul Niguez.

Sevilla managed to score twice in the final five minutes through Pablo Sarabia and Nolito before being denied a penalty in injury time.