Atlético Madrid and Levante both won exciting nail-biters Saturday afternoon in la Liga, with the rojiblancos finding a winner seemingly out of thin air in the last minute of play, and Levante playing a similar game in the 86th. Radamel Falcao is carrying this Atleti team right now in a way few players in the entire world can carry a side--and he's making a strong case for third best player in the world while doing it.
La Liga 2012 Week 8: Atleti, Levante Pull Out Magical Wins
For Levante, Juan Ignacio Martínez just keeps bolstering his coaching resumé. Last year, Levante surprised the sporting world by remaining competitive in Spain throughout the season, falling out of European contention in only the last few weeks. His team of scrappy, defensive-minded no-names stuck with the best in the world for much of the year, outplaying the likes of Valencia and Real Madrid at various points.
Today, JIM's Levante found their soul again, after a tough beginning of the season: they played a tough, scrappy away game against a battle-hardened Getafe squad, and Levante never gave up, finding a winner off substitute Michel's missile shot in the 86th minute. JIM destroyed Getafe's Luis Garcia when it came to tactical changes, completely altering the dynamics of the game with his players--and one of them payed off majorly.
Atlético Madrid faced a similarly tough situation away to Real Sociedad, who came out much stronger, and dominated the Madrileños for most of the night. Atleti was a team in desperate need of salvation, and it came in the form of angel-turned-striker Radamel Falcao, who, in the 89th minute took a free kick and placed it directly into la Real's goal. It was a thing of beauty, and could not have come at a better time for the Colombian, a young man who is finally being included in the best-in-the-world conversations.
Here are the rest of the results:
Osasuna 0-0 Betis
Espanyol 3-2 Rayo
Valencia 3-2 Athletic
Málaga - Valladolid
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