Atletico Madrid Secures 2-0 Victory Against Valencia, Climbs to Third in La Liga Standings

Atletico Madrid defeated Valencia 2-0 at home on Sunday, with to goals from Memphis Depay and Samuel Lino in each half. Diego Simeone's team now sits third in the La Liga rankings.

If Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili hadn't performed so well for the visitors—denying Antoine Griezmann, Depay, Pablo Barrios, Reinildo Mandava, and Nahuel Molina in the first half—Atletico may have triumphed by a wider margin.

The 23-year-old Georgian maintained the equalizer until five minutes into stoppage time in the first half, when Lino scored with a clean low effort after Griezmann's excellent long ball was capitalized on.

In the second half, the home team continued to dominate. In the 53rd minute, Mamardashvili produced another excellent save to save a header from Stefan Savic. But four minutes later, Depay's diving header from a Molina cross from the right wing gave Atletico more of a lead.

With the victory, Atletico surpassed Barcelona on goal differential to take third place in the rankings with 44 points, even with them.

With 54 points, Real Madrid sits in second place, one point behind Girona, the surprising leaders who have played one more game than their closest competitors.

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