Levante 0-2 Atlético Madrid: Oblak defiant as Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone score

Jan Oblak had to get a hand to a shot as early as the 10th minute to keep his goal intact. In the 17th, Morten Hjulmand thought he had opened the scoring from an Alex Baena ball, but VAR confirmed an offside and the goal was ruled out. Moments later, Levante coach Luís Castro was shown a yellow card for dissent.

Atlético took the lead in the 36th minute through a Grimaldo strike. After the break, David Hancko also had a goal disallowed for offside, before Giuliano Simeone doubled the lead in the 62nd. Levante kept pushing forward but never beat Oblak.

Goalkeeper and efficiency make the difference

Levante had 20 shots to Atlético's 11, 14 of them inside the box against 3, and finished with 1.33 expected goals against 0.63. The visitors had slightly more of the ball (54%), with 560 passes to 450, without ever coming close to matching the home side's shot count.

The match was decided by precision. Atlético put 5 of their 11 shots on target, Levante 4 of 20, and 8 home attempts missed the target. Oblak saved all 4 shots on target he faced; Mathew Ryan stopped 3 of 5. One game is not enough to diagnose a lasting problem at Levante, but it shows the price of imprecise finishing.

Baena behind both goals

36th minute: Baena slid a ball into the box, Jon Ander Olasagasti failed to clear it and Grimaldo, from a wide position, fired a left-footed shot into the far top corner. No assist is credited on the move, but it all started with Baena.

62nd minute: this time, the provider is official. From the right, Baena played the ball inside to Giuliano Simeone, who got in behind the defence and beat Ryan in two touches.

A win built on key players rather than dominance

The turning point came in the 36th minute. Until then, Atlético had only a disallowed goal to show for their efforts, and Levante were still in the game. Grimaldo's strike changed the balance of risk: the home side had to open up, and the second goal came from an inside pass by Baena.

SNA's reading of the game lies in that gap between volume and result. This team did not overwhelm Levante on the shot chart; they won because their goalkeeper held firm and two of their players pulled off the difficult moments. Their fifth straight win in La Liga rests on that solidity. For Levante, the second defeat in a row owes as much to imprecision as to the quality of the opposition.

Four Levante changes at once

Simeone made his changes in the 67th, with Jonathan David and Alexander Sørloth replacing Lee Kang-In and Julián Álvarez, then Robin Le Normand and Ademola Lookman in the 76th. Castro went for a sweeping change in the 71st, bringing on Víctor García, Petar Ratkov, Oriol Rey and Dela. Oriol Rey and Ratkov each tried their luck, without hitting the target.

Mandi solid, Etta Eyong luckless

Algeria international Aïssa Mandi anchored Levante's central defence for 90 minutes: 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 68 passes and 3 duels won out of 4. Cameroonian Karl Etta Eyong tried plenty in 71 minutes, with 4 shots but none on target, and won 5 of 11 duels. Introduced in the 76th minute, Nigerian Ademola Lookman had 14 minutes for one attempt, off target.

Second, two points behind Barcelona

Leaders for a few hours, Atlético dropped back to 2nd place after Barcelona's win in the evening: 28 points to 30, after 11 games. Levante remain 18th with 10 points. The Madrid side host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 3 November, then Barcelona the following Sunday at the Metropolitano, with top spot in La Liga at stake.

SNA man of the match: Jan Oblak

Levante had 4 shots on target, Oblak made 4 saves, including one with a hand as early as the 10th minute. Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone settled the score, but the goalkeeper stopped this game from tilting before their goals. He did not concede despite 20 attempts from the opposition.