October 12, (THEWILL) – A spirited goalless draw away to Atletico Madrid was enough for Club Brugge to advance to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time.
In each of their previous nine appearances, the Belgian champions had failed to advance beyond the group stage, but Wednesday’s draw assured they made club history.
Brugge was fairly unlucky to have a penalty overruled on the brink of halftime, but Atletico handed them a helping hand as Diego Simeone’s side failed to take advantage of their chances in the first half.
Although Atletico’s dominance grew throughout the second half, Los Colchoneros were unable to break the deadlock even after Kamal Sowah was sent off. This means that Porto or Bayer Leverkusen might overtake them in second place in the other group fixture later on Wednesday.
In two weeks, Atletico will host Leverkusen at home in an attempt to increase their chances of advancing, and Brugge will welcome Porto to the Jan Breydelstadion on the same day in an effort to win the group.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
