Elche 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Jose Maria Gimenez (left) opened the scoring with his first goal for Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid moved above Barcelona into second in La Liga courtesy of a victory at struggling Elche.

Jose Maria Gimenez fired the reigning champions into the lead in the first half with his first goal for the club.

Mario Mandzukic's 12th goal of the season - a neat near-post finish - gave Atletico a firm grip on the game, which they did not relinquish.

Madrid still trail leaders Real Madrid but are now a point above Barca, who host Espanyol on Sunday.

Diego Simeone's side were not at their best on Saturday, but still had too much for Elche, who remain in 19th place in the table, just three points ahead of bottom club Cordoba.

With a trip to Juventus in the Champions League to come on Tuesday, Simeone will have been grateful for Mandzukic's second-half strike, which gave him the opportunity to withdraw his leading scorer for the final 15 minutes.

Atletico will go into the European clash in Turin looking for a sixth successive victory in all competitions.