Atletico Madrid secured a convincing 2–0 away victory over Levante on Saturday to move temporarily top of the Spanish La Liga standings, ahead of Barcelona’s later fixture against Alaves.
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The team coached by Argentine Diego Simeone moved to 28 points from 11 matches, one point ahead of the Catalan club, who suffered their first league defeat against rivals Real Madrid last week.
Alejandro Grimaldo and Argentine Giuliano Simeone scored in Valencia, giving Atletico their seventh consecutive league victory and extending their strong run of results, while putting further pressure on the defending champions.
“I am very happy with the work the team is doing,” Simeone told Movistar.
“We are still a long way from the end of the season... and we will continue to move forward one match at a time,” he added.
Before kick-off, players observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the train accident in Toledo province, which claimed 69 lives and shook Spain this week.
Youngster Dani Requena forced Atletico’s Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak into an impressive early save.
Morten Hjulmand thought he had given Atletico the lead after receiving a pass from Alex Baena, but a VAR review showed that the Danish player was offside.
Baena, one of the visitors’ main sources of attacking creativity, played a key role in the opening goal. Levante’s defence failed to deal with the World Cup winner’s pass, allowing Grimaldo to fire a powerful shot into the roof of the net at the near post.
South Korean player Lee Kang-in struck the crossbar early in the second half as Atletico looked to put the result beyond doubt.
Giuliano, Simeone’s son, added Atletico’s second goal after receiving a pass from Baena.
Oblak produced another fine save to deny Cameroonian Karl Etta Eyong and prevent the hosts from getting back into the match.
The victory was Simeone’s 344th in La Liga as Atletico Madrid coach, equalling the club record held by Luis Aragones.
“I do not feel that this achievement belongs to me so much. It belongs to my players and everyone who has worked with me throughout these years,” said Simeone, who took charge of Atletico in 2011.
Atletico Madrid will host German side Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday before welcoming Barcelona to the Metropolitano Stadium next week for their league encounter.
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano secured a convincing 3–0 home victory over Celta Vigo.
Jorge de Frutos scored twice (36th and 55th minutes), while Unai Lopez added the third in the 73rd minute.
Rayo moved to 12 points and 11th place, level on points with 10th-placed Celta Vigo, who have played one more match.
In another fixture scheduled for Sunday, third-placed Real Madrid, coached by Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, will visit Racing Santander.
