ATLéTICO BEAT LEVANTE TO MOVE TOP ABOVE BARCELONA

Atletico Madrid moved provisionally to the top of La Liga after a 2–0 victory at Levante on Saturday, extending their winning league run to seven matches.

Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone lifted Diego Simeone’s side one point above Barcelona, who were due to host Alaves later in the day.

Levante threatened early, with Dani Requena forcing Jan Oblak into a strong save. Atletico then had a Morten Hjulmand goal ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

The visitors eventually broke through when Alex Baena’s pass caused problems in Levante’s defence, allowing Grimaldo to fire high into the net at the near post.

Lee Kang-in struck the crossbar after the interval before Baena created another opening for Giuliano Simeone to score Atletico’s second.

Oblak later denied Karl Etta Eyong to preserve the clean sheet.

The result gave Diego Simeone his 344th La Liga victory as Atletico coach, matching the club record held by Luis Aragones.

“I’m very happy with the team’s work,” Simeone said, while stressing that the season remained a long way from its conclusion.

He credited his players and those who had worked alongside him for the milestone.

Atletico next host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday before welcoming Barcelona for a league clash the following weekend.