3 things we learned from Atlético Madrid’s 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen

Atlético Madrid are well on their way to the Champions League quarterfinals, having netted four away goals in a 4-2 victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Though it wasn’t all plain sailing for Diego Simeone’s men, their clinical counter attacking proved too much for a struggling Leverkusen defense, and they’re now all but in the next round.

The hosts made a bright start to the match, but it proved nothing more than a false dawn. They failed to create a single clear-cut chance in spite of a smart spell of possession, and Atléti fired their first warning shot on the counter attack after nine minutes: Yannick Carrasco’s low cross from the right had to be diverted to safety by the quick-thinking Charles Aránguiz.

What initially looked like a momentary lapse was soon revealed to be a structural weakness, with Atléti consistently taking advantage of the space in behind Leverkusen’s fullbacks. Griezmann drew the first save from Bernd Leno after 12 minutes, shortly before a Filipe Luis cross was thwacked against the crossbar by Leverkusen’s own defender Wendell.

Not even a quarter of the game had gone and an Atléti goal looked inevitable. So it proved. Just two minutes after Wendell had narrowly avoided diverting the ball into his own goal, Atléti’s Saúl completed the job. He rode a clumsy Kevin Kampl challenge out on the right before skipping onto his left foot and arcing a perfect shot over Leno and under the crossbar.

It took less than 10 minutes for the visitors to add a second, and it came in embarrassingly simple fashion. A long ball over the top was misread by Leverkusen defender Aleksandar Dragović; Saúl pounced and drove towards goal, eventually laying off for Antoine Griezmann to slot home. Leverkusen looked at risk of complete collapse.

They managed to keep their halftime deficit to just a couple, but only thanks to some smart work from Leno. Griezmann looked certain to add a third after taking receipt of a low Kévin Gameiro cross from point-blank range, though the German shot-stopper pulled off an unlikely triumph in the one-on-one and kept the scoreline respectable.

Leverkusen needed to produce a big reaction early in the second half, and against all odds, they did. Inside five minutes Kampl played a killer pass to Benjamin Henrichs, whose drilled cross was flicked inside the far post by Karim Bellarabi. All of a sudden, the home crowd had some small reason for optimism.

However, football is a cruel game, and it took just 10 minutes for Atléti to restore their two-goal cushion with a third away goal. Wendell’s inexplicable absence on the left side of Leverkusen’s defense forced Dragović into a clumsy intervention on Gameiro in the area. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and the Frenchman stepped up to convert himself.

Atléti were cruising, and so were left kicking themselves when they gifted Leverkusen a second with just over 20 minutes left. It was less the result of attacking ingenuity than defensive calamity, with backup goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà pushing a harmless low cross against teammate Stefan Savić. The ball bounced back off the Montenegrin and straight into the back of the net: Leverkusen were back in with a shout.

They piled forward in search of an equalizer, though paid a cruel price with just five minutes remaining. Atléti substitute Fernando Torres nodded a Šime Vrsaljko cross home from close range to all but kill the tie on the counter attack. Despite their fleeting promise, Leverkusen could have few complaints.

Bayer Leverkusen: Bernd Leno; Wendell, Ömer Toprak, Aleksandar Dragović, Benjamin Henrichs; Kevin Kampl, Charles Aránguiz; Julian Brandt (Leon Bailey 87’), Kai Havertz (Kevin Volland 56’), Karim Bellarabi (Joel Pohjanpalo 66’); Javier Hernández.

Goals: Bellarabi (48’).

Atlético Madrid: Miguel Ángel Moyà; Filipe Luís, José María Giménez, Stefan Savić, Šime Vrsaljko; Yannick Carrasco (Ángel Correa 78’), Saúl Ñíguez, Gabi, Koke; Kévin Gameiro (Thomas Partey 71’), Antoine Griezmann (Fernando Torres 78’).

Goals: Saúl (17’), Griezmann (25’), Gameiro (pen. 59’), Torres (86’).

1. Bayer Leverkusen paid the price for a poor defensive shape

Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt is often praised for his expansive style of football, but the home crowd certainly wouldn’t have been impressed with their performance this evening. Though they were always likely to find life difficult against an Atléti team renowned for their defensive strength, there was no excuse for Leverkusen’s abject defensive display. Fullbacks Benjamin Henrichs and Wendell were positioned far too high up the pitch, leaving central defenders Ömer Toprak and Aleksandar Dragović each having to do the job of two men. Against one of the top counter-attacking teams in Europe, it was never going to end well. Antoine Griezmann and Kévin Gameiro ran the channels expertly, and created three or four clear-cut chances from wide positions in the first half alone. Schmidt’s tactics were naive at best, and plain arrogant at worst.

2. Atléti will be relieved when they have key players back

Atléti headed into this match without three of their first-choice back five: goalkeeper Jan Oblak was only fit enough to make the bench, while neither talismanic center back Diego Godín, nor veteran fullback Juanfran were included in Diego Simeone’s matchday squad. Though they remained largely sturdy throughout this game, ceding few clear-cut chances to Leverkusen, they still ended up managing to concede twice. The calamitous circumstances of the second will certainly have supporters praying for recoveries in advance of the second leg.

3. Saúl has quietly emerged as one of Europe’s best

One of the players who tends to be on Simeone’s team sheet whatever the weather is midfielder Saúl Ñíguez, who turned in another excellent performance in this match. Given that he’s featured so regularly for Atléti over the last couple of seasons, it’s easy to forget he’s still only 22, and has only been capped once by Spain. Once again in this match he showed his quality, capping an energetic and creative performance with a stunning goal. He may well be in the process of quietly establishing himself as one of Europe’s most capable attacking midfielders.