Liga: Antoine Griezmann and Atlético de Madrid clinging to Levante

At the end of the eleventh day of Liga, Atlético de Madrid (7th, 18 pts), defending champion, moved to the lawn of Levante (19th, 5 pts). At the Ciudad de Valencia, Diego Simeone’s men who remained on a snatched draw against Real Sociedad (2-2) could, in case of victory, come back to the height of Real Madrid and Sevilla, installed on the podium with 21 points. A very different accounting situation for the Valencian club, still orphaned by the slightest victory in this Spanish championship (5 draws, 5 defeats) and which came out of a spectacular match lost on the lawn of Seville (3-5). First enterprising and biting in this meeting, Atlético de Madrid quickly opened the scoring thanks to a header from Griezmann from a corner (0-1, 12th). The French international striker’s first La Liga goal after his three Champions League goals.

However, with this lead on the scoreboard and despite a certain collective domination (68% possession of the ball in the first act), the Colchoneros stopped attacking and were punished for this culpable wait-and-see attitude. Fault on Vezo, Suarez conceded a penalty that Bardhi transformed without trembling (1-1, 37th). Back from the locker room, the Granotes, proceeding in quick attacks, were hardly worried by the sterile offensive play of Koke’s teammates. A very disappointing second period, poor in opportunity and disputed at a particularly low pace where the new Madrid recruit Matheus Cunha finally emerged to allow his family to return to the front (1-2, 76th). But at the very end of the game, while Diego Simeone was sent off for disputes, Lodi was penalized for a fault in his own area, very questionable. After intervention of the VAR, Bardhi once again transformed the sentence and offered himself a double (2-2, 90th). With this draw (2-2), Atlético de Madrid (6th) misses the opportunity to hang up on the leading peloton before a perilous trip, next Wednesday, on the lawn of Liverpool for the fourth day of the group stages of the Champions League. For his part, Levante stagnates in 19th place and will try to clinch his first victory of the season on the occasion of the reception of Granada.

The full La Liga standings

The scorers classification

The classification of smugglers

The official line-ups at the kick-off

The XI of Levante

ALINEACIÓN | 1️⃣1️⃣ elegido por @_javipereira para medirnos al @Atleti.🔵🔴🆚🔴⚪️#LevanteAtleti ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/a5cGeMSquI

– Levante UD 🐸 (@LevanteUD) October 28, 2021

The XI of Atlético de Madrid

👥 ¡Nuestro 𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘 holder! ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/TzvEkaSUou

– Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) October 28, 2021