Atletico beat Levante and top La Liga ahead of the Barcelona match

Atletico go top

Atletico Madrid beat Levante 2-0 away on Saturday and temporarily moved to the top of La Liga, one point ahead of Barcelona, who were due to host Alaves later the same day. AFP reported this. The Catalans had just suffered their first defeat of the championship — in the heated clash against Real Madrid.

How the match unfolded

The goals were scored by Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone, the head coach's son. Alex Baena played a key role in both goals: first his pass, after a botched Levante defensive play, reached Grimaldo, who fired into the near top corner, and then he sent Giuliano through one-on-one. Early in the second half, Lee Kang-in hit the crossbar. The hosts had their chances: Dani Requena forced Jan Oblak into a spectacular save early in the match, and in the second half the goalkeeper again came to the rescue after a shot from Karl Etta Eyong. Morten Hjulmand's goal was disallowed after a VAR check for offside. Before kick-off, a minute of silence was held in memory of the 69 victims of the train crash in the province of Toledo, which occurred that same week.

Simeone's record

The win was Atletico's seventh in a row in the championship. For Diego Simeone it was his 344th La Liga victory at the helm of the team he has led since 2011 — matching the club record set by Luis Aragones. 'I don't feel it as mine — it belongs to my players, to everyone who has been with me all these years,' the coach said on Movistar. He also stressed that the team is far from the end of the season and will go 'match by match'.

What's ahead

On Tuesday, Atletico will host Bayern in the Champions League, and next weekend they will host Barcelona in La Liga at the Metropolitano stadium. On Sunday, third-placed Real Madrid, led by Jose Mourinho, will play away against Racing Santander. Thus, Atletico's lead remains provisional: it depends on the result of Barcelona's match against Alaves and could change over the coming rounds.