Atletico Madrid have taken a giant step towards qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, as they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in an gripping encounter at the Metropolitano, meaning that both La Liga clubs were victorious after Barcelona’s stunning comeback victory at Benfica.
Diego Simeone made two changes to the side that lost to Leganes last weekend, with Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente returning to the line-up. Atleti were tasked with bouncing back from their first non-victory in 15 matches, although their objective started poorly as Pablo Barrios was sent off for a high challenge on Leverkusen defender Nordi Mukiele.
Atleti were backs against the wall at that point, and their efforts to see the match out until half time did not go well. In stoppage time before the interval, Leverkusen took the lead as Mukiele’s cross to the back post was headed home by fellow full-back Piero Hincapie.
Despite the man disadvantage, Atleti came out well in the second half, and on 53 minutes, they forced an equaliser courtesy of Julian Alvarez. The Argentine striker did so well to get on to Antoine Griezmann’s through ball, and he finished prolifically when faced with the opportunity against Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
Atleti had played for exactly 50 minutes with one less player when Leverkusen were also reduced to 10 men after goalscorer Hincapie saw a second yellow after a foul on Giuliano Simeone. From that point, proceedings were more even, although it was the hosts that scored the decisive goal.
In the 90th minute, Angel Correa played an excellent ball into countryman Alvarez, and he stabbed home for his and Atleti’s second goal of the evening, which sparked wild scenes inside the Metropolitano.
In the end, Atletico Madrid saw out the match, and with that result, they are now third in the league phase standings, although they have played one more match than some team around them. Regardless, they know that victory at RB Salzburg next week would mean that they are automatically though to the last 16 of the Champions League.
