Atletico Madrid moved a step closer to claiming a place in next season's Champions League after beating Espanyol 2-0 in the Primera Liga on Thursday night.

Goals from the ever-reliable strike duo Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan sealed the points for Javier Aguirre's side and consolidated fourth place with two rounds of games remaining.

At the other end, Espanyol's Luis Garcia struck a free-kick against the post but Atletico held on comfortably to move to within three points of third-placed Barcelona.

Espanyol, meanwhile, drop into the bottom half for the first time this season and their hopes of a place in the Intertoto Cup are all but extinguished as they now sit four points behind Deportivo La Coruna with two games left.