MX23RW : Saturday, November 23 02:54:03| >> :120:15235:15235:
[monks data]
Atletico Madrid logo
Champions League | Round-Of-16
Mar 17, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
Leverkusen logo

1-0

Suarez (27')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Atletico win 3-2 on penalties

Atletico Madrid edge past Bayer Leverkusen on penalties to book last-eight spot

Atletico Madrid overcome Bayer Leverkusen on penalties to advance through to the final eight of the Champions League on the back of a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Atletico Madrid have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a penalty shootout victory over Bayer Leverkusen this evening.

Last season's beaten finalists managed to overcome their first-leg deficit thanks to Mario Suarez's first-half strike, and it was the home side who held their nerve at the Vicente Calderon to progress through on penalties following a 1-0 win on the night.

Mario Suarez of Atletico Madrid celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on March 17, 2015© Getty Images

Following a somewhat tentative start to the match, Karim Bellarabi found himself a yard of space outside the box to fire away the first real attempt of the game with a shot that deflected narrowly wide of the target.

Neither side could really assert any authority on the game inside the opening quarter, but it was the visitors who really should have edged ahead when Son Heung-min latched on to Lars Bender's through-ball, only for his composure to evade him with the chance going begging.

Atletico were dealt a blow when Miguel Moya was forced off with a hamstring injury soon after, Jan Oblak the man to replace him, although it was they who took the lead thanks to Suarez's deflected strike which found its way into the bottom corner.

Mario Mandzukic spurned a great chance to double his side's advantage on the night when played through by Arda Turan, although he was denied by Wendell's fine challenge.

The Brazilian turned provider moments later when he delivered a cross into the near post, but Miranda managed to get to the ball ahead of Hakan Calhanoglu to put a halt to the attacking move.

Leverkusen's forward Karim Bellarabi (L) vies with Atletico Madrid's midfielder Cani during the UEFA Champions League football match on March 17, 2015© Getty Images

Leverkusen, who came into this game on the back of a four-game winning run, were the more cautious side in the second period as they allowed their opponents onto them for large parts, although Atletico struggled to create any real openings.

Turan could not quite keep his effort down after being picked out by Antoinne Griezmann as the Rojiblancos continued to plug away, while Raul Garcia failed to make contact with the ball on the end of Koke's near-perfect cross to the back post.

The best chances continued to fall the way of the home side in the closing stages of the contest, as Turan twice came close to finding a way through, but in the end the Rojiblancos had to settle for extra time.

Following a short period of end-to-end play, Bernd Leno was required to keep out Garcia's shot which looked to be heading right for the back of the net.

Just eight minutes of time remained at the end of extra time when Simon Rolfes fired in a shot from all of 40 yards which flew narrowly over the crossbar, giving the La Liga outfit a real scare.

Both sides seemed happy to settle for penalty kicks at this stage, and with chances thin on the ground spot kicks were indeed needed to separate the pair.

Garcia fired the shootout's first pen over the bar, although he was soon redeemed by Oblak who denied Calhanoglu as both teams failed to get off the mark. The next three were successfully converted, although it was advantage Atleti when Toprak fired over.

Leno then denied Koke to ensure that things remained tight, but after the next two penalties were tucked away, Kiessling failed to find the net with what proved to be the final spot kick to spark scenes of joy inside the Vicente Calderon.

ID:211908: cacheID:211908:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7358:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mario Suarez of Atletico Madrid celebrates scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on March 17, 2015
Read Next:
Half-Time Report: Atletico peg Leverkusen back
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool440012
2Sporting Lisbon431010
3Brest431010
4Inter Milan431010
5Monaco431010
6Barcelona43019
7Dortmund43019
8Aston Villa43019
9Atalanta42208
10Juventus42117
11Lille42117
12Man City42117
13Arsenal42117
14B. Leverkusen42117
15Celtic42117
16Dinamo Zagreb42117
17AC Milan42026
18Bayern42026
19Benfica42026
20Feyenoord42026
21Real Madrid42026
22Brugge42026
23Atletico42026
24PSV41215
25Sparta Prague41124
26Stuttgart41124
27PSG41124
28Shakhtar41124
29Girona41033
30Salzburg41033
31Bologna40131
32RB Leipzig40040
33Sturm Graz40040
34Young Boys40040
35Red Star40040
36Slovan Bratislava40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!