Atlético edge past Leverkusen on penalties
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
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Club Atlético de Madrid 1-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (aet; agg: 1-1, Atlético win 3-2 on pens)
Mario Suárez's deflected first-half effort levelled the tie, and Atlético held their nerve in the shoot-out.
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• Atlético win on penalties against Leverkusen
• Mario Suárez's deflected effort levels tie on aggregate
• Leverkusen miss three kicks in penalty shoot-out
• Atlético substitute Fernando Torres converts decisive penalty
• Quarter-final draw in Nyon on 20 March at 12.00CET
Club Atlético de Madrid reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by eventually seeing off the challenge of Bayer 04 Leverkusen on penalties in an engrossing tie in Spain.
Atlético drew level on aggregate midway through the first period thanks to Mario Suárez's deflected effort, yet despite controlling the majority of the remainder of the game last season's runners-up were unable to force a second goal. Extra time could not separate the sides either, and in the shoot-out Raúl García blazed Atlético's first kick over the bar.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu was promptly denied by Atlético's substitute goalkeeper Jan Oblak, however, and when Ömer Toprak fired over, it was advantage Atlético. Bernd Leno saved the next kick from Koke, but Fernando Torres converted the home side's fifth kick and Stefan Kiessling missed the target with Leverkusen's final penalty.
Defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Leverkusen had cause for optimism having won their previous five matches without conceding a goal. Indeed there was disruption in the Atlético rearguard before a quarter of the match had elapsed as goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà limped off to be replaced by Oblak.
Leverkusen had had the best chance up to that point, Karim Bellarabi's shot deflected wide, but Atlético gradually upped the pressure on the visiting defence and 27 minutes in they were rewarded. The visitors seemed to have dealt with Koke's free-kick but cleared only as far as Cani; he headed square for Suárez and, though Leno looked to have had the shot covered, a deflection off Ömer Toprak took it beyond him.
From the same source, Atlético came close to an aggregate advantage from a similar route; this time Suárez's deflected effort looped a metre wide. It took a timely tackle from Miranda to cut out Wendell's dangerous low pass at the other end, a reminder of Leverkusen's threat.
Atlético continued to look the more likely to claim a second goal as they pressed Leverkusen back from the early stages of the second period, but without carving out clear chances. The home side forced a steady stream of corners without reward and Antoine Griezmann's fine low cross gave Arda Turan a sight of goal; the first-time shot flew wide.
Koke then curled a free-kick centimetres past Leno's left-hand post, while Arda Turan tried to flick in Griezmann's cross only to be foiled. Arda Turan was then denied by the goalkeeper, who dived to his left to push away the low effort.
Chances proved equally rare in the additional 30 minutes, although Simon Rolfes' long-range shot had Oblak scrambling while Leno kept out Raúl Garcíá's attempt. Torres' diving header was straight at Leno with five minutes remaining, setting the stage for the penalty drama that followed.
