Delighted Simeone plays down Atletico´s title hopes

Koke blasted in what proved to be the victor in the seventh minute, and the outmatched hosts never mustered a serious challenge.

Atletico replaced Real Madrid as Barcelona’s closest title rival at four points off its pace through 12 rounds.

Rafael Benitez’s side was put to the sword 4-0 by in Saturday’s Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu and it now suffers the added humiliation of slipping below its near neighbor in the standings.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid went above Real Madrid in the La Liga table on Sunday evening.

Betis looked to press its opponent back but the confident swagger of Atletico’s play was evident when Fernando Torres exquisitely chipped a pass over the home defense with the outside of his foot and Griezmann crashed a volley over.

However, Dani Garcia wasted the chance to extend their lead with his penalty saved by Alphonse Areola following a foul by Costa on Baston before halftime.

Midway through the second half Griezmann had plenty of time but fired over with just the keeper to beat and two minutes from time, similarly placed in the penalty area, he hit the woodwork.

The victory was just the second win for Levante this season and lifts them off the bottom of the Primera Division table and up to 18th, while Sporting slumped to a fourth successive defeat and drop down to 15th place, although just two points better off than Levante.

One of the sides they are tied with on points is Granada, who also picked up an important win at home to Athletic Bilbao, beating them 2-0.

The promising talent had a rough outing, scoring an own goal in the fifth and losing a ball that led to Isaac Success securing the win in the 59th before he left with a leg injury.

Young Belgian winger Yannick Ferreira Carrasco has warned his Ateltico Madrid teammates that this weekend’s match up away at Real Betis will be a hard task, after speaking to the club’s official website.