Atlético Madrid beats Levante 2-0 to go top of La Liga, one point ahead of Barcelona

Two goals in Valencia

Atlético Madrid won 2-0 away to Levante on Saturday, 31 October, at the Ciutat de València, and the result lifted the visitors to the top of La Liga for at least a few hours. Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring in the 36th minute after a misplaced clearance by Levante's Olasagasti gave him a chance from the left side of the area, although one report puts the goal in the 35th minute. Giuliano Simeone doubled the lead in the 62nd minute, finishing a team move that started from the back and was set up by Alejandro Baena. Baena was involved in both goals, and the second strike came after Atlético had controlled the second half for long spells.

Disallowed goals and a tense first half

Atlético had an early goal ruled out when Morten Hjulmand scored in the 16th minute, but the VAR review showed him offside and the referee, Ricardo De Burgos, cancelled it at the 18th minute. Levante created early pressure with Brugué, Romero and Etta Eyong, and Jan Oblak made a save from Dani Requena in the 11th minute. The Levante coach Luis Castro received a yellow card in the 18th minute, a sanction recorded on the match sheet. Hancko also had a goal chalked off for offside in the second half, and Kang-In Lee struck the crossbar shortly afterwards. The stadium recorded an attendance of 20,513.

Table position and the race with Barcelona

Atlético have 31 points from 12 matches, while Levante have 10 from the same number of games. Atlético's seventh consecutive league win also carried them to the top of the table, one point ahead of Barcelona. Barcelona can regain first place if they beat Alavés later on Saturday. The two sides meet at the Metropolitano on Sunday, 1 November, in a direct clash for the lead. Simeone also drew level with Luis Aragonés on 344 league wins, the most by any coach in La Liga history, and could move past him against Barcelona.

Atlético Madrid31

Levante10

Atlético Madrid

31 points

Levante

10 points

Data from the article text

Wider weekend fixtures

Spain is in mourning after a deadly train collision, and players wore black armbands during Saturday's matches. The Spanish football federation postponed 24 Copa del Rey matches that had been scheduled for Wednesday, 28 October. Later on Saturday, Harry Kane and Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, without Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, who is resting after being released from hospital following a sudden collapse. In Italy, AC Milan host Inter Milan in the latest edition of their rivalry.