La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid suffered a shocking defeat at Leganes.© AFP
Antoine Griezmann missed a late penalty as La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid stumbled to a shock 1-0 defeat at Leganes on Saturday, ending a club record run of 15 consecutive victories. Matija Nastasic nodded Leganes ahead early in the second half, with Griezmann dragging a poor penalty wide in the final stages to consign Atletico to a second defeat of the league season. Diego Simeone’s side’s superb form towards the end of 2024 took them above rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona at the halfway point, but their poor display against Leganes opened the door to Spain’s big two.
Real Madrid have the chance to move top of the table on Sunday when they host Las Palmas, while Barcelona can cut down the six-point gap on Atletico later Saturday at Getafe.
Madrid minnows Leganes, 15th, battled well in defence to keep Atletico at bay in the first half.
Rojiblancos striker Julian Alvarez hit the woodwork and had another effort blocked, while Griezmann struck the post.
At the other end Juan Cruz threatened on a rare forray forward for the hosts but Jan Oblak reacted well to keep out his cross-shot.
Early in the second half, Serbian defender Nastasic nodded Leganes ahead and they protected their advantage without much stress until controversially conceding a penalty for a debatable handball by Sergio Gonzalez.
Griezmann took responsibility from the penalty spot but rolled his effort wide of the goal.
Substitute Angel Correa had a final chance to level for Atletico but Marko Dmitrovic bravely blocked his effort from close range to secure Leganes’ victory.
Topics mentioned in this article
