MADRID - Atletico Madrid's 15-game winning run came to an end on Saturday when they were unexpectedly beaten 1-0 by lowly local rivals Leganes, a defeat that could see them lose the LaLiga lead if Real Madrid defeat Las Palmas on Sunday.
Diego Simeone's Atletico still top the standings on 44 points, one ahead of second-placed Real and six clear of Barcelona in third, both with a game in hand.
Atletico dominated the game with more than 60 percent of ball possession, three strikes off the woodwork and twice as many goal attempts as the home side but paid a heavy price for too many squandered chances, including a penalty kick missed by Antoine Griezmann in added time.
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Leganes scored the winner from a corner in the 50th minute, when Dani Raba crossed from the left to defender Matija Nastasic, at the far post, who fired a towering header past goalkeeper Jan Oblak and into the back of the net.
"We didn't come in well. There was a lack of energy, not enough. We had chances but when you don't go in like you have to... the goal doesn't come either," Oblak told DAZN.
"It was our own issue. It shouldn't have to happen. It's easy to talk about how awful we were, which I don't think we were either. 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."
Atletico's remarkable 15 consecutive victories in all competitions was the longest winning streak in club history, breaking Simeone's own record of 13 wins from the 2011-2012 campaign.
Their last defeat was in late October, a 1-0 loss at Real Betis, but after almost three months of success Atletico fell in unexpected fashion at 15th-placed Leganes, who are now five points clear of the relegation spots.
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Giuliano Simeone and Nahuel Molina were a constant menace, exploring the spaces they found on the left side of Leganes's defense and creating most of Atletico's chances in the first half running up and down the right channel.
They helped to create chances for Griezmann, Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher who all struck the woodwork in the first half, but Leganes came back better in the second half and got the lead with Nastasic's bullet header.
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Simeone tried to shake things up by making five substitutions in the second half but Atletico lost momentum and struggled to break Leganes's deep, five-man defense, rarely presenting a real threat to goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
Substitute Angel Correa sent their only clear chance wide but Atletico expected to equalise from the spot after the VAR caught a handball inside the box by Leganes defender Sergio Gonzalez as the game went into added time.
However, their French talisman Griezmann wasted the opportunity, missing with a badly executed, low spot kick.
