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Atlético de Madrid have taken a giant step towards qualifying for the round of 16 of the Champions League, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in an exciting match at the Metropolitano, which means that both La Liga clubs They emerged victorious after Barcelona’s impressive comeback against Benfica.
Diego Simeone made two changes from the team that lost to Leganés last weekend, with José María Giménez and Marcos Llorente returning to the lineup. Atleti were tasked with recovering from their first failure to win in 15 games, although their goal got off to a bad start when Pablo Barrios was sent off for a high tackle on Leverkusen defender Nordi Mukiele.
Atleti had their backs against the wall at that point and their efforts to watch the game until half-time did not go well. In stoppage time before the break, Leverkusen took the lead when Mukiele’s cross to the far post was headed in by fellow full-back Piero Hincapie.
Despite the men’s disadvantage, Atleti came out well in the second half and in the 53rd minute forced a tie thanks to Julián Álvarez. The Argentine striker did very well to take advantage of Antoine Griezmann’s pass and finished prolifically with the opportunity against Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
Atleti had played exactly 50 minutes with one less player when Leverkusen were also reduced to 10 men after goalscorer Hincapie received a second yellow card following a foul on Giuliano Simeone. From then on the match was more even, although it was the home team who scored the decisive goal.
In the 90th minute, Ángel Correa passed an excellent ball to his compatriot Álvarez, who scored the second goal of the night for him and Atleti, sparking wild scenes inside the Metropolitano.
In the end, Atlético de Madrid saw the match and with that result they are already third in the league phase standings, although they have played one more match than some of their surrounding teams. In any case, they know that a victory against RB Salzburg next week would mean they would automatically progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.
