In a first half full of action, Atletico broke the deadlock in the 26th minute through an unfamiliar source, as Clement Lenglet scored his first goal for the club with a simple tap-in from Marcos Llorente’s ball across the box.
Coincidentally, the Frenchman had not managed to score in LaLiga since playing for Barcelona at the same venue against Valladolid almost four years ago.
Julián Alvarez added his name to the scoresheet nine minutes later when Karl Hein could only parry Antoine Griezmann’s initial strike into the path of the Argentine to slot home the loose ball, following Giuliano Simeone’s excellent run and cross.
Whistles circled around the ground after Rodrigo De Paul fired home a third at the end of a blistering break forward, as Griezmann expertly dummied Javi Galán’s cross from the left-hand side.
It was a chastening first half for Valladolid, which could have been even worse had efforts for Giuliano and Jose Maria Gimenez not been ruled out for offside.
A seemingly inevitable fourth goal came after the break from Griezmann, who sublimely dinked the ball past Hein after showing incredible poise and movement in the box to take an Alvarez through ball into his stride. This prompted a round of applause to ring around the stands in an admirable show of sportsmanship from Valladolid’s supporters.
The White and Violets faithful were given some signs for encouragement heading into the final 20 minutes, as a speculative long-range effort from Ivan Sanchez cannoned off the bar. Kike Perez was next to try his luck with a strike which sailed wide of Jan Oblak’s post, as the hosts showed a marginal second-half improvement.
However, there was still time for the visitors to add a fifth in virtually the last kick of the game, with Alexander Sorloth prodding home Angel Correa’s cross.
It was a sobering evening for Paulo Pezzolano’’s side, who have gone seven home league games without a win in the same season for the first time since April 2010. Meanwhile, Diego Simeone’s side move up into second - at least temporarily - before city rivals Real Madrid host Getafe on Sunday.