Atletico Madrid moved provisionally to the top of the Spanish La Liga table on Saturday after securing a 2-0 victory over Levante away from home.

Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Giuliano Simeone secured the victory for Diego Simeone’s men, extending their winning streak in the league to seven consecutive matches.

The result moved Atletico one point ahead of Barcelona, who were scheduled to host Alaves later on Saturday, putting pressure on the reigning champions following their first league defeat against arch-rivals Real Madrid last weekend.

Grimaldo, Giuliano secure Atletico victory

Atletico started the encounter with Levante threatening through Dani Requena, who forced goalkeeper Jan Oblak into an impressive early save.

The visitors thought they had taken the lead when Morten Hjulmand found the net after being set up by Alex Baena. However, a Video Assistant Referee review ruled out the effort for offside.

Atletico eventually broke the deadlock through Grimaldo, who capitalised on a poorly defended pass from Baena to fire the ball high into the net at the near post.

Levante struggled to contain Atletico after the restart, with Lee Kang-in hitting the crossbar early in the second half as the visitors searched for another goal.

Giuliano Simeone eventually doubled Atletico’s advantage after being played through by Baena, before calmly turning the opportunity into the team’s second goal.

Oblak also produced another important save to deny Karl Etta Eyong and prevent Levante from reducing the deficit.

Simeone praises players after historic milestone

Speaking after the match, Atletico manager Diego Simeone expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance but warned that the season was still far from over.

“I’m very happy with the team’s work,” Simeone told Movistar.

“We’re very far from the end of the season… we’ll keep going game by game.”

The victory also saw Simeone record his 344th La Liga win as Atletico manager, equalling the club record previously set by Luis Aragones.

However, the Argentine played down the personal significance of the achievement, crediting his players and everyone who had worked with him since he took charge of the club in 2011.

“I don’t feel it much as mine, but it belongs to my players, everyone who has been with me for so many years,” he said.

Atletico face Bayern, Barcelona next

Atletico will turn their attention to the UEFA Champions League, where they are scheduled to host Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

They will subsequently welcome Barcelona to the Metropolitano Stadium next weekend in another important La Liga encounter.

Meanwhile, third-placed Real Madrid are scheduled to travel to face Racing Santander on Sunday as the Spanish title race continues to gather momentum.

The victory over Levante gives Atletico a temporary advantage at the summit, with Barcelona having an opportunity to reclaim top spot against Alaves.