Atletico Madrid have kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory away at PSV Eindhoven, courtesy of a well-taken Saul Niguez strike.
The match centred around a pivotal two-minute spell at the end of the opening 45 minutes, as Niguez found the net with a scissor-kick attempt just moments before Andres Guardado failed to convert a penalty.
Luuk de Jong looked to have got the hosts off to a dream start inside five minutes, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside, while up the other end Filipe Luis came close from a corner.
The half appeared to be petering out when Niguez, the scorer of the competition's finest goal last season, picked up from where he left off by picking his spot when a cross was not fully dealt with.
Guardado should have levelled up less than three minutes later, but Jan Oblak was equal to his spot kick and pulled off what proved to be a match-winning save.
Antoine Griezmann was the next player to have a goal ruled out for offside in a quieter second half, as Kevin Gameiro twice came close but could not quite keep his cool in front of goal.
PSV did put pressure on their opponents late on, with Gaston Pereiro coming closest to making a breakthrough for his side, but Atleti - finalists in two of the last three seasons - held on for a big opening-game win in Group D.
Daniel Lewis
