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Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Atletico Madrid: Volland strikes to blow Group D open

Bayer Leverkusen breathed life into their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at the BayArena on Wednesday.

By Joe Wright
Kevin Volland celebrates after scoring Bayer Leverkusens winner

Leverkusen, November 7: Bayer Leverkusen breathed life into their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at the BayArena on Wednesday (November 6).

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

Diego Simeone's side could have secured their place in the last 16 with a win, having watched Juventus do likewise with a 2-1 victory away to Lokomotiv Moscow.

Thomas Partey's own goal gave Leverkusen a first-half lead, though, before Kevin Volland's strike secured a first win in a Champions League group game for Peter Bosz at the 10th time of asking.

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Alvaro Morata got a late consolation after Nadiem Amiri had been sent off.

Atleti have struggled in attack in recent weeks and offered little threat to Lukas Hradecky's goal in the first half, with centre-back Felipe coming close to an own goal when he flicked a corner onto the crossbar.

Just four minutes later, Atleti failed to clear their lines after Jan Oblak punched a corner off the line, with Thomas completely miscuing his defensive header to send the ball into his own net.

It was the fourth Champions League goal for Leverkusen to be scored by an opposition player out of the last five, but there was little by way of mere fortune about their second, Volland controlling Karim Bellarabi's cross before rifling a low shot past Oblak.

Morata turned the ball in from Vitolo's cross only to be correctly ruled offside, as Atleti's late pressure could not prevent their 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions from coming to an end.

The match ended in tempestuous fashion, with four players booked after a melee in the Atleti penalty area and Amiri shown a straight red card for a poor challenge on Santiago Arias.

Morata pulled a goal back in additional time, gathering Thomas' throughball and finishing emphatically past Hradecky, who then stuck out a leg to deny the striker an equaliser with almost the last kick of the game.

What does it mean? Leverkusen still alive as Atletico are made to wait

Atletico would have joined Juventus in the next round with a win here, but the defeat means they are only four points above Lokomotiv and Leverkusen.

While progress to the last 16 is still very much in their own hands, another loss in Turin on matchday five will make for an anxious final game at home to Lokomotiv on December 11.

Hradecky holds firm

Atleti only really began to threaten at 2-0 down, but Hradecky made seven important saves to preserve their lead, including a vital stop in practically the final second.

Pouting Thomas sums up listless Atleti

Thomas got his header spectacularly wrong, giving Leverkusen the edge, and he seemed still to be dwelling on his error when he made little effort to close down the space on the Atleti left in the build-up to Volland's goal. He did get a late assist, at least.

What's next?

Atleti host Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday (November 10), when Leverkusen head to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

Story first published: Thursday, November 7, 2019, 8:45 [IST]
Other articles published on Nov 7, 2019