Remorseless Atlético through at a canter

Club Atlético de Madrid will take their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 as Group G winners, a fitting reward for a side who remain perfect in the section thanks to a comfortable victory against FK Austria Wien.

Hoping to emulate holders FC Bayern München's feat of qualifying with four straight wins the night before, the Rojiblancos produced a similar attacking display to that which saw off the Austrian champions on matchday three, with Miranda, Raúl García and Filipe Luis all scoring in the first half. Diego Costa made up for a missed penalty after the break with a clinching fourth towards the end as Atlético equalled their biggest victory in the UEFA Champions League.

Using a defensive formation from the off, the visitors – seeking their first win and goal in the group – were nonetheless invited forward by the hosts in the early exchanges and conjured the game's opening chance, Florian Mader driving wide from distance.

The pattern was to change quickly, however. Diego Simeone's team – who had previously accounted for FC Zenit and FC Porto – hit their stride and took the lead through Miranda's second goal of the campaign, the Brazilian defender eventually smashing in on 11 minutes after Christian Ramsebner's inadvertent assist from Koke's probing corner. 

Costa went close to a second while Thomas Murg offered Nenad Bjelica's men a glimmer of hope at the other end, trapping and turning smartly before Thibaut Courtois beat out the shot. 

Along with their ambition of reaching the knockout stages for the first time since 2008/09, Atlético were also looking to register four consecutive wins in the competition for the first time. They took another step towards accomplishing that target when García nodded Costa's superb left-footed centre high into the corner of the net.

It would get even worse for the Vienna outfit before the interval, after Juanfran's low cross from the right had been dummied by García into the path of Adrián López. Heinz Lindner did well to palm out the Atlético No7's shot but Filipe Luis was on hand to turn in the rebound.   

If the Liga side's momentum dropped slightly after the restart, the opportunities continued to come, García and substitute Cristian Rodríguez both having efforts saved by Lindner. The Austria goalkeeper was in action again as the match entered its closing phase, brilliantly stopping Costa's penalty – though the striker's frustrations proved short-lived since he stroked in a late, crowning, fourth as Atlético marched on.