An important victory and crucial points were secured at home against Levante, a real bogey team for Atlético de Madrid in recent seasons. Important for going into the international break with more peace of mind.
The first half was dominated entirely by Atleti, who failed to turn that control into a lead at halftime. As always, Simeone’s team started by controlling the ball and the tempo of the game, almost hypnotizing the Levante side, creating clear scoring chances, such as an excellent switch of play from Hancko, who sent a long ball to Barrios. Although Barrios found himself alone in front of the Levante goalkeeper, he couldn’t manage a clean shot to really trouble him.
Not even ten minutes had passed and a goal seemed imminent, which arrived in the 11th minute with an own goal by Dela, unfortunate for the Levante side. Pablo Barrios again drove towards goal, reaching the byline and this time tried to connect with the Norwegian, with Ryan, the Levante keeper, clearing, but unfortunately for the visitors, the ball rebounded off the defender and ended up in the net.
A goal that seemed to predict a comfortable match… something that would not happen. Attempts to score a second and calm the game did not materialize. What did come was a very poorly defended corner at the far post and the equalizer in the 21st minute of the match.
Giménez lost concentration and failed to notice that Manu Sánchez was completely alone at the far post, heading in and leaving Oblak with no chance to prevent Levante’s goal.
With more than twenty minutes left in the half, Atlético’s siege of Levante did not yield a second goal. The only real chance came shortly after Levante’s equalizer, with a header from Giuliano, who almost took advantage of a great pass from “the spider,” who spotted his compatriot. Giuliano turned his head well, but Ryan was up to the task and denied the red-and-white lead.
Many corners and few shots that really troubled Levante, so the draw was ultimately sealed, not without Levante also launching attacks, with counterattacks that were not well executed.
SECOND HALF WITH GOALS AND SET PIECE HOMEWORK
The changes Simeone made at the hour mark, with thirty minutes to play, quickly paid off. With Almada and Griezmann already on the field, the Frenchman finished off a connection with Marcos Llorente, who burst down the right wing like a bullet to provide a tap-in assist to Griezmann (61st minute), breaking the deadlock at the start of the second half, when Atleti was eagerly seeking the goal to regain the lead.
Our players were not satisfied and sought with great motivation a third goal that would allow for a more comfortable end to the match than in recent games at the Metropolitano.
Griezmann and Julián Álvarez were very active in their search for a goal, with Baena seeking a bigger role in the match by supplying balls to the forwards, but without being able to shoot dangerously at Ryan’s goal, and without suffering dangerous counterattacks at Oblak’s end.
But with a quarter of an hour to go, Levante pushed forward and had a spell of possession near the edge of Atleti’s box, forcing corners that made us suffer. Like the corner in the 76th minute, which allowed a header from Koyalipou, with Oblak responding brilliantly to prevent the equalizer.
A key play in the match, as almost immediately the goal that brought peace of mind arrived. After a Levante error in playing out from the back, Griezmann recovered the ball near the area, drove forward and assisted Julián, who shot but couldn’t beat Ryan. The ball was left almost dead in front of an empty goal, and Griezmann pounced on the rebound to score his second and the goal that sealed the win.
Levante did not give up and had a couple of chances to score a second, and with five minutes left, it could have been another agonizing finish at the Metropolitano. Morales had a one-on-one with Oblak in the 82nd minute, after a through ball from Carlos Álvarez, but the Slovenian keeper did very well to deny the Levante captain’s goal.
Levante also created danger from set pieces, after a foul by Molina that Elgazabal almost capitalized on, shooting alone in front of Oblak, but sending it high.
Clear chances, but by missing them, Levante lost their chance at a comeback. And even though Levante would score a second goal (which was ultimately disallowed for offside), again from a set piece after a foul on the edge of Oblak’s area. A short pass to Carlos Álvarez, who shot directly at goal. But his teammate Moreno was offside and participated in the play by trying to finish the ball and interfering with Oblak, who couldn’t stop the shot.
The match ended with a well-deserved victory, a break for the international window, and homework to improve defending set pieces.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.
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