Levante 2 Atletico Madrid 2: Camello grabs debut goal in Griezmann and Godin farewell
Levante opened up a two-goal lead but could not hold on as the 10 men of Atletico Madrid snatched a 2-2 draw in Saturday's LaLiga clash.
Published : May 18, 2019 19:05 IST
Sergio Camello scored a debut goal as Atletico Madrid battled back from 2-0 down with 10 men to end its LaLiga campaign with a 2-2 draw against Levante at the Ciutat de Valencia.
Saturday's match marked the final time Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Juanfran are likely to put on the Atletico shirt, but they could do little to prevent their side from falling behind in the first half.
Erick Cabaco gave Levante an early lead and Roger Marti seized on an error at the back from Thomas Partey to double his side's tally.
But the visitor completed the comeback, despite having Angel Correa sent off early in the second half, as Rodrigo and substitute Camello found a way through.
Atletico was behind with just six minutes played as Ruben Vezo headed the ball into the six-yard box and Cabaco converted past Antonio Adan, in for the injured Jan Oblak, with an improvised finish.
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Koke produced a couple of good stops to thwart Filipe Luis and Griezmann in the space of three minutes, while Godin's downward header bounced off the ground and skimmed the post as the visitor responded strongly.
But a stray pass from Thomas 36 minutes in gifted Levante a second goal, with Roger the player to profit as he charged through and lifted the ball over Adan.
Diego Simeone's day went from bad to worse when Angel Correa was dismissed for kicking out at Chema Rodriguez following a challenge - VAR being used to overrule the referee's initial call to show just a yellow for the incident.
Atletico was given a lifeline 22 minutes from time thanks to Rodrigo's arrowed shot into the top corner of the net, and 18-year-old Camello marked his first appearance in the top flight by slotting home after Koke saw a shot blocked.
What does it mean? Players come and go, but Atleti resolve remains
Two goals down and with a man disadvantage, it would have been easy for Atletico to roll over. This is a Simeone side, though, and that was never going to be the case.
This might be the last time Griezmann, Godin or Juanfran wear the shirt, but Camello's introduction and the resolve it displayed in the second half shows Atleti's fighting spirit is unlikely to change.
Win, lose or draw, second place was the only position Atletico could finish heading into the final day of action, but this point does at least move it to 76 for the season - its joint-lowest return since 2012 - while Levante's final tally of 44 is two short of last term's.
Camello makes huge impact
Brought on at half-time for the ineffective Thomas, Camello made the most of his 45 minutes on the field as he managed three shots - one of those, his first attempt on target of his LaLiga career, beating the impressive Koke from close range.
Simeone tired of Thomas
Thomas lasted just 45 minutes in his final outing of the season, with Simeone replacing him at the interval following his error for Levante's second goal. The midfielder, who has had a mostly positive campaign, also failed to take the few opportunities that fell his way in the first half - including a scuffed shot from eight yards aimed right at Koke.
What's next?
Levante's campaign is now officially over, but Atletico has pencilled in a post-season friendly with Beitar Jerusalem next Tuesday.