LaLiga: Atletico rolls over Betis with a dominant home win

After two consecutive draws in the league, Atletico had one of its best games of the season against Manuel Pellegrini’s side, which had been hoping to stay in the fight to top the table after three straight wins.

Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid celebrates with Yannick Ferreira Carrasco and teammates after scoring their side's third goal during the La Liga Santander match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Betis at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga on Sunday with a dominant 3-0 home victory over Betis that helped it leapfrog its opponents into fourth place in the table.

After two consecutive draws in the league, Atletico had one of its best games of the season against Manuel Pellegrini’s side, which had been hoping to stay in the fight to top the table after three straight wins.

Yannick Carrasco scored the opener with a phenomenal shot halfway through the first half, before Atletico doubled its lead just after the hour when Betis defender German Pezzella headed a corner kick into his own net.

Substitute Joao Felix sealed the deal in the 84th minute, finishing a counterattack with a fine shot from the left past the keeper and into the far corner.

Atletico rose to fourth place in the table on 22 points, three behind leader Real Sociedad, which played a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao. Betis slipped one spot to fifth on 21 points.

READ: Health issues set to sideline Barcelona's Pique and Aguero

It was a dominant display by Atletico under heavy rain at the Metropolitano Stadium and Diego Simeone’s side could have won by a larger margin were it not for some goalkeeping heroics from Betis' Claudio Bravo.

Atletico started strongly and Betis' Chilean keeper had to make a couple of outstanding saves against Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa, both moves created by Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo de Paul.

It was only a matter of time until Atletico opened the scoring, however, with Correa feeding the ball to Carrasco, who finished with a powerful left-footed shot into the roof of the net.

Atletico kept harassing the Betis defense in the second half and was denied a second goal by VAR, which signaled that Mario Hermoso had been offside before heading in a cross from Griezmann.

Instead, Betis' veteran Argentinian defender Pezzella tried to clear a Griezmann corner kick only to head the ball into his own net.

Felix, who replaced Luis Suarez with 20 minutes left to play, swept in a third goal that was at first ruled out offside before a VAR check over-ruled that decision, giving the home side a comfortable victory.