Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 to bottom-placed Levante at the Wanda Metropolitano last night. Gonzalo Melero scored the decisive goal six minutes short of the hour mark before Angel Correa’s stoppage time equaliser was ruled out for a foul in the buildup.
The defeat means that Atletico failed to take the opportunity to climb above Barcelona in La Liga and left themselves susceptible to being leapfrogged by Real Sociedad. They’re fifth in the league table, level on points with the former and one ahead of the latter. Both sides have a game in hand on Los Rojiblancos.
For Levante, the victory is titanic. It’s just their second of the season and sees them move within five points of 19th-placed Cadiz and six of 18th-placed Deportivo Alaves. Granada and safety from relegation are ten points clear of them.
Many observers have noted that losing to Levante feels like a rockbottom moment for Diego Simeone’s team. They’re defending champions, after all, but are a million miles off the title race. As things stand they have a battle on their hands to finish top four.
“Every team knows how to play and if we’re not at our best we’re not going to win,” Jan Oblak said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “We’ve not played a good game. It’s a difficult moment, but we all have to improve.
“We all have to give a lot more to make it into next season’s Champions League. The position we’re in is alarming. It’s not the position you expect to be in at this club. Talking isn’t enough. We have to raise our level if we’re going to make it into next season’s Champions League.”
