Goal spectacle in the Champions League
©IMAGO
Club Brugge fought back to a draw against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday evening after being three times behind. In the first leg of the second round of the Champions League, former second division professional Christos Tzolis redeemed the Belgian hosts shortly before the final whistle; previously, ex-Hannover players Nicolò Tresoldi and Raphael Onyedika had already equalized the Spaniards’ lead with their goals.
The Rojiblancos took an early lead through a penalty from Julián Alvarez, and Ademola Lookman increased the lead for Diego Simeone’s team in stoppage time in the first half. “It was an intense and unpleasant start. Unfortunately, we fell behind due to a penalty and were unlucky not to get one. Shortly before half-time we were 2-0 down, and you knew then that it could be a very difficult game,” said Bruges captain Hans Vanaken after the intense game. In the second half, the Belgians “started to rotate and move around more in the midfield. This created more space and we started to play better football. I also started looking for the ball more, which gave Onyedika more space in the attack, for example,” the 33-year-old veteran continued.
Onyedika scored at the beginning of the second half, and the former 96er Tresoldi equalized a short time later. Bruges keeper Simon Mignolet reflected on the game: “These are bitter pills to swallow. First a penalty, then a goal in stoppage time and finally an own goal. It was immediately clear to us that we had to have a good answer ready after the break.”
An unsuccessful rescue operation by central defender Joel Ordóñez resulted in an own goal in the 79th minute and initially brought Madrid back to winning ways before ex-Düsseldorfer Tzolis gave Brugge the draw ten minutes later and a decent starting position for the second leg. Mignolet praised his team after the final whistle for successfully resisting and showing morale. “We continued to play freely and put the opponent under real pressure with goals at the right moments. Both last weekend against Cercle Brugge and today we fought as a team until the end.”