LA LIGA: ATLETICO MADRID BEAT LEVANTE 2-0, MOVE TOP ABOVE BARCELONA

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By ‘Sefiu Ajape

Atletico Madrid moved provisionally to the top of La Liga on Saturday after securing a 2-0 victory over Levante, putting pressure on Barcelona ahead of their home fixture against Alaves.

Diego Simeone’s side moved one point clear of the Catalan giants, who suffered their first league defeat against rivals Real Madrid last weekend.

Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone secured Atletico’s seventh consecutive league victory, extending their impressive run of form.

“I’m very happy with the team’s work,” Atletico coach Simeone told Movistar.

“We’re very far from the end of the season… we’ll keep going game by game.”

The match began with a minute’s silence in memory of the 69 victims of the train crash in the province of Toledo that rocked Spain this week.

Levante’s Dani Requena tested Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak early in the encounter, forcing an impressive save.

Morten Hjulmand thought he had given Atletico the lead after being set up by Alex Baena, but a VAR review ruled out the goal for offside.

Baena, who was the visitors’ main creative outlet, played a key role in the opening goal. His pass was poorly defended by Levante, allowing the ball to fall to Grimaldo, who fired high into the net at the near post.

Atletico continued to press after the break, with Lee Kang-in hitting the crossbar early in the second half as the visitors sought to extend their lead.

Giuliano Simeone, son of the Atletico coach, eventually doubled the advantage after being played through by World Cup winner Baena.

Oblak later produced another superb save to deny Karl Etta Eyong and prevent Levante from mounting a comeback.

The victory marked Simeone’s 344th La Liga win as Atletico manager, drawing him level with the club record set by Luis Aragonés.

“I don’t feel it much as mine, but it belongs to my players, everyone who has been with me for so many years,” said Simeone, who took charge of Atletico in 2011.

Atletico will host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday before welcoming Barcelona to the Metropolitano next weekend in La Liga.

Meanwhile, third-placed Real Madrid, managed by Jose Mourinho, will visit Racing Santander on Sunday.