No matter how, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was going to make sure Club Brugge got the point they needed to advance to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in three decades. (More Football News)
Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was the star of the match as the former Liverpool star made as many as nine saves to keep Atletico Madrid at bay.
No matter how, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was going to make sure Club Brugge got the point they needed to advance to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in three decades. (More Football News)
Mignolet made save after save, including one with his face in the final minutes at the Metropolitano Stadium, as Club Brugge held Atlético Madrid to a 0-0 draw Wednesday to become only the second Belgian club to reach the round of 16 in the Champions League.
바카라I바카라m glad I was able to play such a big role for my team again,바카라 said Mignolet, who is yet to concede in four Champions League games this season. 바카라I wasn바카라t really thinking about a clean sheet. It바카라s a nice bonus, of course.바카라
Among Mignolet바카라s nine saves was a remarkable one with his face on a late close-range shot by Ălvaro Morata. 바카라I just smashed all my body and was able to stop it with my head,바카라 the 34-year-old goalkeeper said. 바카라The end justifies the means I guess.바카라
Mignolet and his teammates celebrated wildly after the match as Club Brugge secured a spot in the round of 16 for the first time since that phase was introduced in 2003-04. In 1992-93, it reached the last eight, which at that time was called the group stage. Club Brugge also played in the final of the 1978 European Cup, losing to Liverpool.
바카라This is a dream,바카라 said Mignolet, the former Liverpool goalkeeper. 바카라We fought until the end and we finally did it. In previous years, it just didn바카라t work out for us. We felt this year would be different, and now qualification is ours. But our story doesn바카라t end here. Let바카라s see how far we can go.바카라
Club Brugge has been one of the surprises of the group stage and needed at least a draw to follow up on Gent바카라s qualification to the last 16 in 2015-16.
The setback left Atlético in a difficult position to advance from Group B as Club Brugge moved to 10 points, six more than the Spanish club. Atlético dropped two points behind Porto, which later won 3-0 at last-place Bayer Leverkusen. The German club stayed with three points.
In the next round of matches, Club Brugge hosts Porto, while AtlĂ©tico hosts Leverkusen. 바카라It바카라s tough,바카라 AtlĂ©tico coach Diego Simeone said. 바카라There is only one thing we can try to do now, which is to win our last two matches.바카라
It was AtlĂ©tico바카라s third straight match without a win in the European competition. We created many chances but couldn바카라t get the ball to go in,바카라 AtlĂ©tico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. 바카라Mignolet had a great match and stopped everything. I congratulate him.바카라
Club Brugge had a penalty kick reversed after video review in the first half. The Belgian side saw Kamal Sowah sent off in the 82nd for kicking the ball away after a stoppage in play.
Antoine Griezmann started after AtlĂ©tico and Barcelona reached a deal for his permanent transfer, but the France forward couldn바카라t give the hosts the spark they needed.
Griezmann had one of AtlĂ©tico바카라s best scoring chances but couldn바카라t capitalize. Matheus Cunha also missed with a shot from close range in stoppage time.
Griezmann now can play as much as Simeone likes after Atlético acquired him for 20 million euros ($19.4 million) plus variables. He had been playing only after the 60-minute mark because Atlético wanted to avoid paying extra to Barcelona in his loan contract with the Catalan club.
Griezmann hasn바카라t scored in nine straight matches for club and country, since a crucial late winner in AtlĂ©tico바카라s 2-1 win against Porto in the group-stage opener in September, more than a month ago.
Atlético is trying to avoid elimination in the group stage for the first time since 2017-18. It has advanced in eight of the last nine seasons.
Club Brugge defeated AtlĂ©tico 2-0 in the previous round for its 14th Champions League win, a record among Belgian teams in the competition, surpassing the mark previously set by Anderlecht. AtlĂ©tico바카라s other loss was at Leverkusen. Club Brugge also won at Porto and against Leverkusen.
Atlético had won all three games against Club Brugge at home, including as recently as 2018.