Valencia hit six of the best

Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira hit a hat-trick as Valencia handed out a 6-1 thrashing of Malaga to motor to provisional pole position in the Spanish football league.

Mista, Carlos Marchena and David Albelda also got on the scoresheet as Valencia went top of the standings by one point from Real Madrid who travel to Real Valladolid on Sunday.

In the night's other fixtures, Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Osasuna, and Celta Vigo lost 1-0 at Real Betis in new Celta coach Raddy Antic's first match in charge with the Champions League contenders.

Man-of-the-match Oliveira also had a hand in Valencia's first goal after just five minutes by setting up Mista with a header.

Nine minutes later, Oliviera himself found the net after a pass from Javier Garrido and Malaga's hopes plummeted further when their keeper Francisco Arnau was sent off in the 25th minute.

The goal trickle became a torrent. Marchena scored two minutes after the break and Oliveira got his other two goals in the 59th and 66th minutes. Albelda hit the sixth on 73 minutes with former Valencia player Salva pulling one back for Malaga a minute later.

The result meant Valencia, who have scored the most goals and conceded the least in the championship, got back to winning ways after two home defeats against Real Madrid in the Spanish Cup and Osasuna in the league.