Atleti run ends as Griezmann misses penalty
Atletico Madrid's record run of 15 straight wins came to an abrupt end as lowly Leganes claimed a 1-0 win in LaLiga, Antoine Griezmann missing the chance to steal a late point from the spot.
The Frenchman, who is Atletico's all-time record goalscorer, hooked his effort wide of the target as Atletico opened the door for Real Madrid to take top spot on the league table should it beat Las Palmas on Monday (AEDT).
Atleti had its chances in the first half to put the game to bed against a side coach Diego Simeone had described as "dangerous" ahead of the match, despite it being mired in the battle against relegation.
Julian Alvarez hit the post in the 11th minute. Just minutes later, he was in again but saw an attempt from inside the six-yard box saved by Marko Dmitrovic in the Leganes goal.
The woodwork came to Leganes's rescue again in the 26th minute as Griezmann fired a shot against it, sliding in to meet an Alvarez cross from the right.
It remained scoreless at half-time and Atleti's inability to convert those chances came back to haunt it in the second period when Matija Nastasic powered home a header from a corner less than five minutes after the restart.
Salavation for the visitors appeared to have come in the form of a penalty in the last minute of the match after the video assistant referee spotted a handball in the box, giving Griezmann the chance to take a share of the points and extend Atletico's unbeaten run.
But his left-footed attempt was hooked wide of the target, much to the delight of the home fans.
Amazingly, Atletico had another chance to take a point in the last of seven added minutes at the end of the 90, but Angel Correa's shot was superbly saved by Dmitrovic before Adrian Nino fired the rebound high over the bar.
Atletico remains top of the table on 44 points, but crosstown rival Real Madrid is just a point behind in second with the game in hand.
Leganes moved away from the bottom three with the win, and sits in 15th with 22 points.
Atletico captain Jan Oblak said: "We didn't come in well. There was a lack of energy, not enough.
"It was our own issue. It shouldn't have to happen. With a bit more energy we could have turned it around.
"We didn't play well but we should have our head up. After 15 games, we've lost."
Simeone remained positive despite the defeat.
"The team generated enough situations to have had a different scoreline," Simeone said.
"We started with a lot of energy, with key plays in which we could have found the goal.
"In the second half they made good use of the dead ball, and after they scored they started defending better, with humility, and we found it difficult to overcome that.
"We had that penalty, but Leganes did very well. It was our turn to lose."
Simeone insisted that he was not worried about how the result would impact his players' mentality, having experienced defeat for the first time since losing to Real Betis in October 2024.
"When you get used to winning, then it's harder to lose because it's very nice. Obviously, it hurts to lose, but it's part of the way, and you have to accept it," Simeone said.
"We had 15 extraordinary games, with the great joy of having generated the best record in the history of Atletico. The journey was fantastic, and I can only say positive things about my players' huge effort to achieve that.
"Today I stick with their performance, which was good and hope we can keep playing well moving forward."
