Hakan Calhanoglu scored the only goal of the match as Bayer Leverkusen beat Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash on Wednesday evening.
The Turk's goal came just before the hour, with Leverkusen keeping a clean sheet against last season's finalists, who finished the match with 10 men following a red card for Portuguese midfielder Tiago.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two sides.
Match statistics
LEVERKUSEN
Shots: 13
On target: 3
Possession: 63%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 24
ATLETICO
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 37%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 11
Was the result fair?
One look at the statistics, in terms of attempts at least, will suggest that this was a close match. However, in truth, Leverkusen were the better team for long spells on their own patch. Atletico's best spell arrived at the end of the first period, but some excellent goalkeeping from Bernd Leno kept the scores at 0-0. The visitors also appeared to be taking control early in the second half, but they were still struggling for clear opportunities and it did not come as much of a surprise when Leverkusen scored. Calhanoglu will take the plaudits for what was a smart finish, but German international Karim Bellarabi produced a super flick in the build-up as Leverkusen deservedly opened the scoring. Was there a response from Atletico? Not particularly.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone brought on Fernando Torres for the final 25 minutes and the Spaniard had the ball in the back of the net 15 minutes from time, only for the fourth official to claim that Antoine Griezmann's corner had curved out of play before Torres headed home. It was a tight decision and moments later, Atletico were down to 10 men when Tiago picked up his second yellow for a foul on the tricky Bellarabi. That was the end of the chances, with Atletico sitting back and seemingly accepting the 1-0 defeat. Leverkusen are now the favourites, but it is finely balanced ahead of the second leg in Madrid.
Leverkusen's performance
A fairly mediocre Bundesliga season and patchy recent form meant that Leverkusen entered this match as the underdogs against last season's finalists and the Spanish champions. Well, the hosts certainly did not play with an inferiority complex. As mentioned, Atletico had their moments, but it was a match largely controlled by the home side, who had more possession and better moments in the final third. They might have entered the interval with the lead, with the best chance of the half seeing Emir Spahic rattle the crossbar with a stunning attempt. Atletico ended the first 45 minutes on the front foot, but Leno came to the rescue to deny Tiago, in addition to just beating Griezmann to a high ball when the Frenchman looked certain to score.
In the second half, the home side continued to press high and eventually got their reward just before the hour when Calhanoglu fired home from inside the box. It was a very smart finish from the Turkish international, but credit must also be given to Bellarabi, who found his teammate with a lovely piece of skill. At the back, Spahic and on-loan Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos gave little change to the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Griezmann, with Atletico struggling to breach what was a strong defence. The home supporters turned up in their numbers full of hope and their team responded.
Atletico's performance
Atletico's away form in La Liga this season has been fairly patchy - losing four times - and therefore it is perhaps not much of a surprise that they struggled here. The absence of Spanish midfielder Koke has hurt them badly in recent weeks and that was also the case in Germany, with the youngster's guile and quality from set pieces an obvious miss. It was hardly an ideal first period, with Simeone forced to withdraw Guilherme Siqueira and Saul Niguez before the first half had even ended. That said, there was still more than enough quality for the visitors to take something from this match and they just did not perform.
For the most part, Diego Godin and Miranda remained strong at the heart of the defence, but the likes of Bellarabi caused Atletico problems in wide areas and they were vulnerable to the counter-attack, which proved one of Leverkusen's main weapons. In midfield, Gabi failed to take control of the match, while Tiago, who brought a super save from Leno late in the first period, did not complete the match after seeing red. There was no real fluency to Atletico in the final third, while they never really offered the impression that they would score, which will be a big concern for Simeone. That said, at 1-0, Atletico are still very much in the tie and will still fancy their chances of progressing, but major improvement will be needed.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Hakan Calhanoglu: Bellarabi runs his teammate close for this one, but the award has to go to the goal-scorer. The Turk had a very busy first period, with his quality on the ball an obvious threat to Atletico. The midfielder made his biggest contribution just before the hour, however, when he thrashed one past Miguel Moya from close range. Calhanoglu remained a threat in the latter stages, meanwhile, and his performance, for a player that is just 21, was very impressive. Clubs will surely be circling.
Biggest gaffe
Atletico might feel that the chalking off of Torres's 'goal' should be recognised here, but it was a very close call. Tiago, however, can have no complaints for picking up a second yellow card late on. Atletico needed all of their players pulling in the same direction during a difficult period of the match, but the midfielder foolishly raised his foot in a challenge with Bellarabi and the referee had no option but to produce a red. It was poor from a player that should have known better.
Referee performance
As touched upon, it was a fairly busy night for referee Pavel Kravolec. The 37-year-old Czech issued nine yellow cards and a red during what was a feisty match between two physical teams. The decision to send Tiago from the field was correct, but Atletico will feel hard done by that Torres's header did not count in the second half. There were a couple of penalty appeals, but Kravolec was correct to turn them down, while he remained firm during clashes between both sets of players.
What next?
Leverkusen: The German outfit return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a home match against struggling Freiburg.
Atletico: Atletico face a difficult trip to Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday evening.
Matt Law
