#328 ptsW9 D1 L2GD +13
Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 at home to Barcelona on Sunday 8 November, after a 2-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 3 November. Atlético are third in La Liga on 28 points from 12 games. The league record is still nine wins, one draw and two defeats, which makes this a wobble more than a collapse, though the goals dried up in both defeats. The next test is away: Atlético visit Getafe at Estadio Coliseum on Sunday 22 November, with kickoff at 3:00 pm ET. A tight defence gives them a base to end the losing run quickly, as long as someone in attack scores. Álex Baena leads the squad with 5 goals and 4 assists in all competitions, and finding more scorers is the story of the next few weeks.
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#225 ptsW8 D1 L1GD +12
Julián Álvarez's apology to Atlético fans this week put the summer's unrest on the record — and then he answered it on the pitch, scoring the only goal against Deportivo at Riyadh Air Metropolitano six days ago to keep Atlético two points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga. The Playbook calls Atlético to win at Estadi Ciutat de València on Saturday. Levante sit fourteenth, fifteen points and twelve places below, with a goal difference of -3 across ten games. Álvarez has two goals and two assists in the league and Champions League this season; Alejandro Grimaldo, who supplied the assist against Deportivo, has three goals and two assists. That is the attacking spine Simeone sends to Valencia. Levante have drawn four of their ten league games, so there is a route to a point — but Atlético's defensive record over the past three matches, just one goal conceded, makes that the harder outcome to engineer. Atlético win.
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