Atletico ease past Leverkusen 4-2 to take control of tie

Record ID: 275528

  • Title: Atletico ease past Leverkusen 4-2 to take control of tie
  • Date: 22nd February 2017
  • Summary: LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 21, 2017) (REUTERS) ATLETICO MADRID COACH DIEGO SIMEONE ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ATLETICO MADRID COACH, DIEGO SIMEONE, SAYING ACCORDING TO INTERPRETER: "Raul is very strong, he shoots very well and we worked out that if we came from the left we would cause problems for their defenders' right foot, and that worked as w
  • Embargoed: 8th March 2017 00:02
  • Keywords: Atletico Madrid Bayer Leverkusen Champions League
  • Location: LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY
  • City: LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA00164GQJB3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Atletico Madrid beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter on Tuesday (February 21) to take a firm handle on their Champions League round-of-16 tie ahead of the return leg in Spain next month.
    Two lethal counter-attacks in the opening 25 minutes put the 2014 and 2016 finalists in the driving seat, with Saul Niguez and Antoine Griezmann on target, and give them the edge for a quarter-final spot for the ninth time.
    "It was an exceptional game from our side and I think the result could have been even better. But I would say in the first half we played an almost perfect game: we played very intelligently," Atletico coach Diego Simeone told a news conference after the match.
    Leverkusen, who paid the price for a disastrous defensive performance, cut the deficit before Atletico's Kevin Gameiro scored with a spot kick and Stefan Savic's own goal set up a nervous finale.
    Fernando Torres ended any speculation with his goal in the 86th minute to take revenge for last season's 1-0 loss as the Germans suffered their first home defeat in Europe after a 10-match unbeaten run.
    "We didn't find our way into the game very well in the first half, we didn't play at our best and we made some mistakes which Atletico exploited very well," Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt told reporters.
    The Bundesliga club, finalists in 2002 before the introduction of the round of 16, are now at risk of missing out on the last eight for the fifth time, having never gone past this stage on their four previous attempts.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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