The World Cup break provided a much-needed respite for Atletico Madrid, who subsequently ended their three-game winless streak in the Spanish league with a 2-0 triumph over bottom-placed Elche on Thursday in their first match back after the international break.
Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata scored second-half goals for Atletico, which moved back into the Champions League places with the victory at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
"The team had a great attitude. It was a very good match. We have to keep working to keep improving going forward,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.
Atletico went into the World Cup break with a victory against fifth tier AlmazAn in the first round of the Copa del Rey, but Simeone's team had not won in five straight matches in all competitions before that, including two in a row in the group stage of the Champions League, which left it without a place in any European competition for the rest of the season.
Atletico had also beaten fourth tier Arenteiro in the second round of the Copa del Rey after the World Cup.
Felix opened the scoring with a header in the 56th minute and Morata added to the lead in the 74th with a shot that bounced off a defender and over the goalkeeper. Morata went to the ground after the shot and only found out he was the one who scored while celebrating with his teammates. "I thought it was (Antoine) Griezmann who had scored off the rebound. I was on the ground, had no idea,” he said.
Morata was with Spain at the World Cup, and Felix was with Portugal. Their Argentina teammates at Atletico – Angel Correa, Nahuel Molina and Rodrigo De Paul – were honored before the match against Elche for their world title in Qatar. None of them played as they rejoined the group late.
Pablo Barrios, 19, made his debut as a starter for Atletico.
Both teams played with 10 men as Elche saw Gonzalo Verdú sent off just before half-time and Atletico's Mario Hermoso got a red card in the 53rd. Elche also lost Domingos Quina with a red card in the 90th.
Elche, debuting coach Pablo Machin, remained the only winless club after 15 league matches.
Fifth place Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 at sixth-place Real Betis, while Girona drew 2-2 with visiting Rayo Vallecano.
Leader Barcelona hosts city rival Espanyol on Saturday. Second placed Real Madrid, two points behind the Catalan club, visits Real Valladolid on Friday.
