Atletico win again at Valencia despite penalty woes

Antoine Griezmann made amends for missing a second penalty in as many games by hitting the opening goal as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 2-0 on Sunday to provisionally go top of La Liga.

The France striker saw his first half penalty beaten away by spot-kick saving specialist Diego Alves, who repelled another penalty from Gabi later on. But he finally blasted past the Brazilian goalkeeper in the 62nd minute, while Kevin Gameiro sealed the points in injury time.

Griezmann finished off a sweeping Atletico break after Yannick Carrasco had teed up substitute Fernando Torres, forcing Alves to parry, and Gameiro knocked the ball back for his fellow Frenchman to fire into the unguarded net.

Atletico withstood late pressure from the home side and Gameiro powered his way towards goal in the dying seconds, dancing past a defender to smash past Alves from close range.

Atletico provisionally lead the table with 15 points, with title rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, on 14 and 13 respectively, playing later on Sunday.

Valencia conceded a penalty when Nani fouled Angel Correa in the area.

Griezmann, who had struck the bar from the spot against Bayern and in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, missed a third straight penalty for Atletico as Alves dived to his right to save yet another spot-kick after setting a La Liga record last week.

After Griezmann had broken the deadlock Alves made his 19th penalty save in the league by denying Atletico captain Gabi from 12 yards, but his feats proved anecdotal as Valencia slumped to a fifth defeat in seven games.