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Atletico Madrid have moved provisionally to the top of La Liga after beating Levante 2-0 away from home on Saturday.
Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone’s goals secured Atletico’s seventh consecutive league win and extended their strong run of form. The victory moved Diego Simeone’s side one point ahead of Barcelona, who will host Alaves later. Barcelona suffered their first league defeat last weekend against rivals Real Madrid.
Atletico took the lead in the first half through Grimaldo. Alex Baena’s pass caused problems for Levante’s defence, allowing the ball to fall to Grimaldo, who fired it high into the near post.
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Earlier, Morten Hjulmand had thought he scored for Atletico after Baena set him up. However, a VAR review ruled out the goal because the Danish midfielder was offside.
Levante also threatened early in the match. Dani Requena forced Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak into an impressive save. Atletico pushed for a second goal after the break. Lee Kang-in hit the crossbar early in the second half as the visitors looked to seal the win.
Giuliano Simeone eventually doubled Atletico’s lead after Baena played him through. The forward, who is the coach’s son, calmly turned the chance into a goal. Oblak later made another fine save to deny Karl Etta Eyong and prevent Levante from reducing the deficit.
Speaking after the match, Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised his players’ performance.
“I’m very happy with the team’s work,” Simeone told Movistar.
“We’re very far from the end of the season… we’ll keep going game by game,” he added.
The victory also saw Simeone record his 344th La Liga win as Atletico coach, matching the club record held by Luis Aragonés. However, Simeone played down the personal achievement.
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“I don’t feel it much as mine, but it belongs to my players, everyone who has been with me for so many years,” he said.
Simeone has managed Atletico since 2011. Meanwhile, the match began with a minute’s silence in memory of the 69 people killed in a train crash in Spain’s Toledo province earlier this week.
Atletico will next host Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. They will then welcome Barcelona to the Metropolitano Stadium next weekend for another La Liga clash. Elsewhere, third-placed Real Madrid will visit Racing Santander on Sunday.
