Atlético Madrid regretted themselves in their own Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday evening. The team of coach Diego Simeone was against Levante, which is firmly at the bottom in LaLiga, offensively impotent and eventually went down 0-1. For the visitors, the win only meant the second win of the season. Levante is still ten points away from retaining their position, while Atlético is stuck in fifth place with 39 points from 25 matches.
Simeone made two changes to his starting eleven on Wednesday evening compared to Saturday’s sensational 4-3 win over Getafe. José María Giménez replaced the suspended Felipe, while Luis Suárez started from the bench in favor of Rodrigo de Paul. While both teams struggled in the opening phase to create opportunities that were played out, the game got a bit loose halfway through the first half.
Atlético finally got the pressure on Levante. Ángel Correa first missed a serious opportunity to tap in the 1-0, after which Giménez almost helped the visitors into the saddle. The defender headed the ball completely the wrong way on the halfway line, so that Jorge de Frutos had a free passage from his own half towards Jan Oblak. By reducing his goal, the closing post managed to save the home team from falling behind with a good save.
Atléti in trouble again ?? The number last (!) Levante deservedly takes the lead in the Wanda Metropolitano ?? Is Simeone’s team going to straighten this out? †#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #AtlétiLevante pic.twitter.com/62gnow5FoF
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) February 16, 2022
Early in the second half, things still went wrong for Atlético against the last of LaLiga, when Gonzalo Melero was released after a well-constructed attack in the box. The midfielder did not hesitate and pulled the trigger in the short corner: 0-1. Simeone saw how his team could not make a fist in an attacking sense. The Argentine coach brought in João Félix, Suárez and Héctor Herrera in the second company to avoid a disgrace, but Atlético almost never claimed a point. The fact that the home team only scored a shot on goal well into injury time was telling. Correa then scored with a nice overhead kick, but a late equalizer was canceled due to a foul by Giménez.