September 13, (THEWILL) – On Tuesday, Atletico Madrid suffered a 2-0 loss in their UEFA Champions League fixture when Bayer Leverkusen scored twice in the final seven minutes of the matchday two tie.
Until Robert Andrich raced past Ivo Grbic, the gritty match at BayArena was headed for a draw with the two sides apparently set to share the spoils one apiece.
Then, Moussa Diaby completed a swift counter to give Leverkusen the very real prospect of their first points in Group B, which they earned by ensuring that there were no late comebacks from Diego Simeone’s La Liga side.
For Atletico, who have now dropped seven of their last eight away UCL games in Germany, there were some well-known frustrations as they once more left the country back home with an empty bag.
Atletico must refocus as they play their formidable arch-rivals, the defending European champions, Real Madrid next, while Leverkusen will take some much-needed confidence from this triumph into their Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen at the weekend.
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.
