Levante 0-2 Atlético Madrid: Grimaldo and Simeone see off a goalless hour

Atlético Madrid made it five wins from their last six across competitions, Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone scoring either side of the hour mark as Diego Simeone's side won 2-0 at Levante on Saturday. Grimaldo broke the deadlock on 36 minutes with an unassisted finish, and Giuliano Simeone — the manager's son — doubled the lead on 62 minutes from an Álex Baena pass. Levante never found a way back into the game.

It was a notably clean afternoon in a sport not short of bookings: neither side picked up a single yellow or red card across the full 90 minutes, a rare statistic for a LaLiga fixture between a team fighting relegation and one chasing the top of the table.

Match facts

• 36' — Alejandro Grimaldo (Atlético Madrid)
• 62' — Giuliano Simeone (Atlético Madrid), assist Álex Baena

Line-ups

Levante lined up in a 4-2-3-1 behind Mathew Ryan, with Jeremy Toljan, Aïssa Mandi, Nacho Pérez and Ifeanyi Ndukwe across the back. Petar Ratkov, Víctor García, Marc Santos Gavilán, Orio Rey and Adrián de la Fuente came on during the second half as the home side chased an equaliser that never arrived. Atlético Madrid set up in a 4-4-2, Jan Oblak behind a back four of Dávid Hancko, Marc Pubill and Alejandro Grimaldo, with Julián Álvarez and Giuliano Simeone leading the attack. Jonathan David, Ademola Lookman, Alexander Sørloth and Robin Le Normand were all introduced from the bench.

Atlético keep rolling

Atlético Madrid came into the weekend on a run of four wins and a draw from their previous five matches across competitions, conceding only twice in that stretch. Saturday's clean sheet continues that defensive streak and keeps Diego Simeone's side unbeaten since a 1-1 draw against VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League on 20 October.

Levante's winless run goes on

Levante, by contrast, had won only once in their previous nine league matches, and Saturday's defeat made it three losses and two draws across their last five. The hosts managed four shots on target and five corners, more than their visitors in both categories, but could not turn that territory into a goal.

Where this leaves the table

Atlético Madrid had gone into the round 2nd on 25 points from ten games, two points behind leaders Barcelona. Levante had arrived 18th on 7 points from nine games, inside the relegation zone. A result that extends the gap between the two clubs in the table does little to change either side's broader picture on its own, but it leaves Levante still searching for the kind of form that would lift them clear of the bottom three.