Atlético Madrid continued their impressive run in La Liga with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Levante on Saturday, October 31, as goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone secured three important points for Diego Simeone’s side.
The visitors delivered a disciplined performance at the Ciutat de València, overcoming an energetic Levante team to record their seventh consecutive victory across all competitions and temporarily move to the top of the La Liga standings.
Atlético began the encounter with an opportunity to take an early lead, but Levante goalkeeper Jan Oblak was also called into action during the opening exchanges.
The home side threatened in the 10th minute when Dani Requena produced a dangerous effort that required an excellent save from Oblak. The Slovenian goalkeeper reacted quickly to keep the ball out and prevent Levante from taking an early advantage.
Atlético subsequently thought they had broken the deadlock when Morten Hjulmand found the back of the net following a pass from Álex Baena. However, the celebrations were interrupted after a VAR review established that the Danish midfielder had been in an offside position, resulting in the goal being disallowed.
The visitors continued to search for an opening, with Marcos Llorente coming close in the 29th minute. The midfielder produced a dangerous effort, but Levante goalkeeper Mathew Ryan reacted well to make an important save and keep his team in the contest.
Atlético eventually found the breakthrough in the 36th minute through Grimaldo, who capitalised on a defensive mistake to put the visitors ahead.
Baena played an incisive pass into the attacking area, but Levante midfielder Jon Olasagasti failed to deal with the delivery properly. The loose ball fell kindly for Grimaldo, who reacted quickly before unleashing a powerful left-footed strike into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
The goal rewarded Atlético’s growing pressure and gave the visitors a deserved advantage heading into the closing stages of the first half.
Levante attempted to respond before the interval, but Atlético maintained their defensive organisation to protect their lead.
The home side’s attacking efforts continued after the restart, although Atlético also threatened to extend their advantage.
Lee Kang-in came particularly close to scoring early in the second half when his effort struck the crossbar, denying the South Korean midfielder a spectacular goal.
The missed opportunity proved costly for Levante as Atlético continued to create problems whenever they found space to launch counterattacks.
Giuliano Simeone nearly doubled the advantage shortly afterwards, but his effort went over the crossbar as Atlético searched for a second goal.
The visitors eventually secured their second goal in the 62nd minute through Giuliano, who finished an excellent counterattacking move.
Baena once again demonstrated his creative quality by releasing the Argentine forward with a perfectly weighted through ball. Giuliano timed his run intelligently, broke through the Levante defensive line and calmly guided his left-footed finish past the advancing Ryan to make it 2-0.
The goal gave Atlético breathing space and left Levante facing an increasingly difficult task against a side that had become more comfortable defensively.
However, the hosts refused to surrender and continued searching for a way back into the contest.
Karl Etta Eyong threatened to reduce the deficit with a dangerous effort, but Oblak produced another important intervention to preserve Atlético’s two-goal advantage.
The Cameroonian forward had another opportunity to trouble the visitors, but Atlético’s defensive organisation and timely interventions prevented Levante from finding the net.
Dávid Hancko also produced an important late defensive intervention to deny Etta Eyong, ensuring that Atlético maintained their clean sheet.
Despite Levante’s attempts to mount a late comeback, Diego Simeone’s players remained disciplined and managed the closing stages professionally to secure all three points.
The victory moved Atlético Madrid provisionally to the top of the La Liga standings, increasing the pressure on Barcelona ahead of their subsequent fixture.
For Levante, the defeat represented another disappointing result in a difficult league campaign, with the club unable to turn their promising attacking moments into goals.
Atlético will now turn their attention to a demanding week, with a Champions League encounter against Bayern Munich scheduled before their highly anticipated La Liga meeting with Barcelona.
Grimaldo’s clinical finishing, Giuliano’s intelligent movement and Baena’s creativity proved decisive as Atlético continued their impressive winning run and strengthened their position in the Spanish title race.
