Atletico was given a penalty, but Lucas Hradecky stopped Yannick Carrasco’s attempt, and Saul Niguez headed the rebound over the crossbar.
Champions League: Barcelona, Atletico crash out on bad night for Spain
On a disastrous night for La Liga, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both lost and were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, with Barca going down and Atletico being held at home to a draw.
Barcelona was eliminated from the Champions League and relegated to the Europa League as Inter Milan defeated Viktoria Plzen 4-0 at home.
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Barcelona fell to Bayern Munich 3-0 at home. The Spanish club outplayed by the Germans for the majority of the match and failing to manage a single shot on goal.
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Bayern took the lead in the tenth minute on the play of Sadio Mane, and just after the half-hour mark, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting doubled their advantage.
Barca huffed and puffed without causing Bayern serious problems, and Benjamin Pavard netted the third goal with the last kick of the game following a corner.
Meanwhile, Porto’s win away to Club Brugge meant that anything other than a win for Atletico at home to Bayer Leverkusen would also see their Champions League adventure come to an end for this season.
There was high drama in Atletico’s match, especially in the final minute, reports Xinhua.
Atletico failed to score from a corner and the referee blew the final whistle when the score was 2-2. But then the referee received a call from VAR over a possible penalty for the Spanish side.
Atletico was given a penalty, but Lucas Hradecky stopped Yannick Carrasco’s attempt, and Saul Niguez headed the rebound over the crossbar.
Leverkusen scored first through Moussa Diaby, and Atletico responded by Carrasco in the 22nd minute.
Although Rodrigo de Paul brought Atletico to within one goal of Leverkusen early in the second half, they were unable to find a winner, even from the penalty spot. Callum Hudson-Odoi restored Leverkusen’s advantage in the 29th minute.
In order to guarantee their spot in the Europa League, Atletico must now match Leverkusen’s performance from the final group game.
(inputs from IANS)
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