Atleti dumped out of Europe as Porto and Brugge cement spots in UCL knockout stages
Bayer Leverkusen - Club Brugge 0-0
Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge were forced to settle for a point each in their final group match, as a 0-0 stalemate at the BayArena denied the Belgians top spot.
As a showdown with repercussions at each end of the group, both sides needed to be proactive in their approach. This became particularly important for the visitors as unbeknownst to them FC Porto, whose result they had to match to remain first, simultaneously raced into a healthy lead against Atletico Madrid, though in a relatively tame goalless first half they were second best to Leverkusen.
The Germans have struggled under new boss Xabi Alonso with a run of five winless games, but would have gone ahead if not for Simon Mignolet’s sublime intervention to deny Moussa Diaby from a tight angle.
Not being able to punish teams has proved to be a disastrous habit of late for Die Werkself, with nine of the 14 goals they have conceded in their current barren spell coming after the intervanl.
Brugge sought to flip the game on its head upon the restart, and within 60 seconds Tajon Buchanan had hit the crossbar before Eduard Sobol’s rebound flashed wide across goal. This set the tone for a much more open final 45 minutes, yet it was still a mystery which end the opening goal would come.
The best opportunity to steal the points came the way of Patrik Schick, but he was unable to hit the back of the net in Europe for the first time this campaign, again down to the heroics of Mignolet, whose one-handed diving stop kept out a powerful header. Whilst his side had already confirmed their place in the Round of 16, his saves earnt an impressive fifth clean sheet of the Group Stage.
Ultimately though it wasn’t enough, as a winning goal was needed to see Brugge become the first Belgian side to finish top of a group in the competition.
They will instead have to settle for second place, whilst a much happier Leverkusen finish off their campaign in the knowledge that having bettered Atletico’s result, they will continue their continental journey in the UEFA Europa League upon the turn of the year.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge)
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Porto - Atletico Madrid 2-1
Porto beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 for their first victory in six meetings with the Colchoneros, finishing top of Group B and condemning their visitors to total elimination from Europe before Christmas.
With 2010 marking the last time Atleti had lost all hopes of continental silverware prior to the New Year, they arrived at the Estadio do Dragao in a tough situation, but that only got worse five minutes into proceedings.
Carving the Spanish side open with ease after being slipped through by Otavio, Evanilson squared the ball to Mehdi Taremi to provide his strike partner with the simplest of tap-ins for his 12th goal of the season.
Galeno soon had a golden opportunity to double the hosts’ lead but he was outfoxed by Jan Oblak, who desperately gestured for his teammates to liven up.
Just as it looked like Diego Simeone’s side were about to do just that, Galeno got the better of Stefan Savic before teeing up Stephen Eustaquio, who clinically finished to record a goal in back-to-back Champions League games.
Atleti were criminally ponderous at times before the break, and their best chance of the opening half-hour fell to Rodrigo De Paul, although the tame nature of the Argentine’s shot meant Diogo Costa’s comfortable evening continued in the Porto goal. In a blow for the hosts, Zaidu Sanusi was forced off after just eight minutes of the second half following a robust challenge from Savic.
Antoine Griezmann thought he’d given his side some hope with 20 minutes left, as he hit a strike that finally showed some Atleti venom, but De Paul was adjudged to have fouled Galeno in the build-up.
Simeone’s side looked more determined despite the setback, but couldn’t draw level despite Ivan Marcano’s late own goal as Porto secured their fourth consecutive victory in the competition to finish top of Group B, completing a remarkable turnaround after starting off with two defeats back in September.
Meanwhile, Atleti are faced with the embarrassment of being knocked out of European football, having failed to record a win since the group opener.
Their attention now turns to what is shaping up to be a vicious fight for one of the four Champions League berths in La Liga, of which two are widely considered to be all but secured by dominant duo Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mehdi Taremi (Porto)
