Atletico Beat Levante 2-0 as Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone Seal Seventh Straight LaLiga Win

Atletico beat Levante 2-0 on 31 October 2026 in a 2-0 away victory over Levante at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia. Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone scored the goals, Alex Baena provided both assists, and Jan Oblak protected a clean sheet with fine saves at important moments. The crowd of 20,513 watched a controlled away performance that extended a strong run of form and moved Atletico to 28 points from 11 matches.

The match began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the train crash in the province of Toledo earlier in the week. The silence gave the occasion a solemn start and placed the football that followed in a wider context. Both teams then turned to the contest with clear purpose, and Atletico settled quickly into a shape that limited space for the home team and allowed the visitors to build attacks with patience.

Atletico beat Levante 2-0: A Controlled Away Performance

Atletico started with discipline and looked to control the middle of the pitch. The visitors moved the ball with care, pressed when Levante tried to play out from defence, and waited for openings rather than forcing play into crowded areas. Levante worked hard to close gaps and tried to use the home crowd for energy, but Atletico kept a steady rhythm and avoided the kind of early error that can change an away match.

The first clear warning for Levante arrived early, when Jan Oblak made a fine save against Dani Requena. The save mattered because it kept the score level at a stage when a home goal could have given Levante belief and forced Atletico to chase the match. Oblak read the effort well, held his position, and dealt with the danger in a calm manner that set the tone for the defensive work that followed.

Atletico grew stronger as the first half developed. The visitors found more space in wide areas, moved the ball more quickly through the lines, and tested the Levante defence with runs in behind and crosses into the penalty area. The pressure did not produce a rush of chances, but it shifted the balance of the match and pushed Levante deeper into the home half for long spells.

Grimaldo Breaks the Deadlock in the 36th Minute

Alejandro Grimaldo scored the opening goal in the 36th minute after a pass from Alex Baena caused confusion in the Levante defence. The pass cut through the defensive line at a moment when the Levante players were uncertain about who should step forward and who should hold position. Grimaldo used the hesitation well, found space in a dangerous area, and finished with composure to give Atletico a 1-0 lead.

The goal rewarded the patient approach that Atletico had shown from the start. The visitors had kept the ball, moved Levante from side to side, and waited for a pass that could break the shape of the home defence. Baena provided that pass, and the confusion that followed showed how a single well timed delivery can change a tight match. Grimaldo took full advantage and gave the away team a lead that matched the balance of play in the first half.

After the goal, Atletico managed the rest of the first half with care. The visitors stayed compact without the ball, closed the space in front of the defence, and looked to protect the lead while still posing a threat on the counter attack. Levante tried to respond and pushed more players forward, but Atletico held firm and reached the interval with the advantage intact.

Giuliano Simeone Seals the Win in the 62nd Minute

Giuliano Simeone scored the second goal in the 62nd minute, again with an assist from Alex Baena. The goal doubled the lead and gave Atletico clear control of the match at a stage when Levante needed a quick response to stay in the contest. Simeone finished the move with confidence and turned a narrow lead into a margin that allowed Atletico to manage the final part of the match with greater calm.

Baena stood at the centre of both goals and shaped the attacking story of the match. The first assist created confusion with a pass that split the Levante defence, while the second assist found Simeone in a position to finish and settle the result. Two assists in one away match underlined the value of clear decision making in the final third, and Baena provided the link between midfield control and the goals that decided the contest.

Simeone played a direct role in the result with a goal that rewarded a strong run and a sharp finish. The second goal also changed the task for Levante, because the home team now needed two goals against a defence that had already shown discipline and organisation. Atletico used the new scoreline well, kept the shape of the team, and avoided the kind of open play that could have invited pressure in the closing stages.

Oblak Saves, VAR Decision and a Crossbar Near Miss

Jan Oblak made fine saves at both ends of the match and gave Atletico a secure base from which to build the win. The early save against Dani Requena kept the score level when Levante looked to make a fast start at home, and the late save against Karl Etta Eyong protected the two goal lead when Levante pushed forward in search of a way back into the match. Both saves required sharp reactions and calm positioning, and both saves underlined the value of a goalkeeper who stays alert through long spells without sustained pressure.

The defensive work in front of Oblak also deserved credit, because Atletico stayed compact, tracked runners, and limited the number of clear chances that reached the goalkeeper. The clean sheet reflected a collective effort rather than a single save, and the structure of the team allowed the attacking players to commit to moves forward with confidence that the shape behind the ball would hold. Levante found space hard to create in central areas and had to rely on moments at the edge of the penalty area rather than sustained control.

A goal from Morten Hjulmand was ruled out by VAR for offside, and the decision removed a moment that could have changed the course of the match. The review checked the position at the decisive moment and confirmed that the goal could not stand, which allowed Atletico to keep the advantage that the team had earned through the two goals that did count. The decision also showed the importance of discipline in the defensive line, because a tight offside call can turn on small margins and a well held line can protect a lead.

Lee Kang-in struck the crossbar for Atletico in a moment that came close to extending the lead further. The effort showed that Atletico continued to look for a third goal rather than sitting back and defending a narrow advantage, and the strike served as a warning that the visitors carried a threat even when the match looked under control. The crossbar denied Lee a goal, but the chance added to the sense that Atletico had the clearer attacking moments across the match.

Minute	Scorer	Assist
36	Alejandro Grimaldo	Alex Baena
62	Giuliano Simeone	Alex Baena

League Table Picture After Atletico beat Levante 2-0

Atletico move to 28 points from 11 matches after this victory, two points behind Barcelona. The result briefly put Atletico at the top of the table before the Barcelona result later in the day, which showed how tight the contest at the top had become and how much value each away win can carry in a close title race. The position after 11 matches reflected a run of consistent results rather than a single strong performance, and the points total gave Atletico a clear platform for the difficult matches that followed.

The win was a seventh consecutive league win, and the unbeaten run in all competitions extended to nine games. A run of seven league wins requires control in different types of matches, because away games, tight scorelines and late pressure all test a team in different ways. Atletico met those tests in this match with a clean sheet, two well worked goals, and a calm response to the late efforts from Levante. The unbeaten run added further weight to the result, because it showed that the team had avoided defeat across a longer spell that included more than one competition.

Consistency of this kind matters in a long season, because points gained in away matches against determined home teams often decide the final order at the top of the table. Atletico left Valencia with three points, a clean sheet, and no new setback to carry into the next week. The performance also gave the squad confidence that the defensive structure and the attacking link between Baena and the goalscorers could hold up under pressure in a stadium where the home team had clear motivation to respond.

Team	Matches	Points	Consecutive league wins
Atletico Madrid	11	28	7

Simeone Reaches 344 LaLiga Wins and Levels the Record

Diego Simeone recorded his 344th LaLiga win as Atletico coach, a total that draws level with the record set by Luis Aragones. Simeone has managed Atletico since 2011, and the length of that spell gives the record a clear context, because it reflects sustained success across many seasons rather than one short run of form. Simeone shared credit with his players and pointed to the collective work behind the result, a response that matched the team first character of the performance in Valencia.

What Comes Next for Atletico and Levante

Atletico face Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday, a match that will test the squad against strong European opposition and will demand the same defensive discipline and the same sharp attacking play that decided the match at Levante. The short gap between matches will test recovery and selection, but the momentum from a seventh straight league win gives the team a positive base from which to prepare.

Atletico then host Barcelona at the Metropolitano next weekend in a match that carries clear importance for the title race. The meeting will bring together two teams near the top of the table, and the result in Valencia means that Atletico will enter the match with confidence and with points on the board from a difficult away trip. The home crowd will expect a strong performance, and the team will need the same control, the same work without the ball, and the same clinical finishing that produced the win over Levante.

For Levante, the task now is to respond to a home defeat and to use the lessons from the match in the next fixtures. The home team competed, created moments through Requena and Etta Eyong, and forced Oblak into fine saves, but the team could not turn those moments into goals. The next step for Levante will be to find a sharper edge in attack while keeping the work rate that made Atletico work hard for control for long parts of the match.

The 2-0 win at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia gave Atletico a seventh straight league victory, an unbeaten run of nine games in all competitions, a clean sheet, and a record equalling win for the coach. Grimaldo and Simeone scored the goals, Baena provided both assists, and Oblak made the saves that protected the lead. The result briefly put Atletico top of the table, left the team two points behind Barcelona, and set up a demanding week with Bayern Munich and Barcelona to come.

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