Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen: 3 Talking Points | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
Bayer Leverkusen travelled to the Spanish capital to take on Atletico Madrid, and they were in dire need of points having lost their preceding two games. The Germans had a commendable performance, however, their tame efforts in and around the Atleti penalty area allowed the Spanish team to nick the game via a clinical finish.
After a barren one hour largely dominated by Peter Bosz's men, Alvaro Morata reared his head in the 78th minute, connecting with a Renan Lodi cross and sent the ball beyond the reach of Leverkusen's Lukas Hradecky.
The win took Atleti to 7 points, with 2 victories and a draw. They are firmly nestled behind Juventus in 2nd place, thanks to the Turin club's superior goal difference. Leverkusen, on the other hand, are rock bottom of the group with zero points, and they will need to put their best foot forward in the upcoming group games to qualify for the Europa League at least.
Here we discuss some interesting points from the encounter.
#1 Bayer Leverkusen dominant but tame in front of goal
Peter Bosz's men entered this encounter in need of a win, and they certainly played with the urgency the fixture required. However, the team once again failed to dazzle in front of goal when it mattered, wasting opportunities over and over.
The German team had managed to score just a single goal in the competition before the encounter, and once again they were shy in front of goal. Leverkusen had an impressive 60 per cent of the ball at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, they failed to make all that dominance count, as their game-high 12 shots could only trouble Atleti's Jan Oblak on one occasion.