Atletico Madrid couldn’t beat Levante last night in another important game in the title race for La Liga, drawing 1-1 despite registering 14 shots on goal. They lacked effectiveness according to Marca, something that’s been a strength for them this season. Los Rojiblancos managed to avoid defeat, however, through an equaliser from a man in great form, Marcos Llorente.
Llorente, alongside Luis Suarez, has been Atletico’s decisive player this season. He’s in the best moment of his career registering numbers few can match, scoring, assisting, defending. He has eight goals from 13 shots on target this season, and the final third has become his natural habitat, with the ultra-fit midfield runner scoring twice from outside the box.
As well as scoring, Llorente is an elite-level assister. He teed up a goal against Granada last weekend, putting him level with Jorge de Frutos of Levante in terms of total assists. He’s generated 15 goals in total this season, more than the entire midfield of most La Liga teams including Real Madrid. He’s close to hitting double figures in both goals and assists across all competitions this season, with nine and eight respectively. No player has achieved this at Atletico since Opta began collecting such statistics in 2008.
