Atletico Madrid 3-1 Club Brugge
Two weeks ago Atletico Madrid veteran Jan Oblak said his team can’t pick and choose their games, but the general consensus at the Metropolitano is that the Champions League and Copa del Rey should be their priorities for the rest of the season. Club Brugge showed in a 3-3 draw in Belgium last week that they were a tough opponent for Los Colchoneros.
That was the case for the first 20 minutes. Midfielder Carlos Forbes missed the first leg through injury, but was starting to be a problem for Matteo Ruggeri on the left. Marc Pubill was forced into a crucial block, and Nicolo Tresoldi was inches away from connecting with a free header. Atletico were keen to relieve the pressure when Jan Oblak went long for Alexander Sorloth. The Norwegian appeared to lift the ball high, but his shot caught Simon Mignolet off-guard, and what should have been an easy shot went wide for the first goal after 23 minutes.
🚨 Atletico Madrid have NOT kept a single clean sheet in the Champions League this season. They have played 9 games in total and scored 18 goals. pic.twitter.com/Lw5n6QwakI
– Atlético Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 24, 2026
With a push forward, Giuliano Simeone and Alex Baena took turns to get in on the left, but both cuts had nothing to do with it. On the half hour, Julian Alvarez put away a free header from Ruggeri again, as the balance of the tie began to waver. As in the first leg however, Brugge showed that they have the personality to match their talent. After back-to-back sets, Brandon Mechele glanced at the near post and Joel Ordonez nodded into the back of an empty net. Now Atletico was shaken, after moving from one box to another it ended up with a cross from Christos Tzolis over the head of Hugo Vetlesen. Oblak’s strong hand to close it out was palpable, a great save five minutes before the break.
Simeone’s changes were successful in the second half
If Simeone looked stressed before half-time, he showed little joy when Johnny Cardoso gave Atletico a good start on the back of it, but he must have been breathing easy. A corner was cleared from the edge of the box, and Cardoso put it on his chest, before firing the ball, with the help of a slight deflection, into the bottom left corner just two minutes after the restart. As it happened in the first half, Atletico started to come in waves in Brugge after the goal, but without the work of Simon Mignolet.
As the waves of pressure subsided, Brugge began to work their way back into the game for the second time. From the hour-mark, the Belgian team began to play in Atletico’s half, with Ademola Lookman now looking to exploit the extra space on the break. As it was, Simeone’s reforms had the desired effect. Marcos Llorente sent Sorloth behind from deep, and he found Lookman on the left. Playing a one-two with another substitute, Antoine Griezmann, Lookman’s square ball found Sorloth alone in the middle, who was able to finish from close range to give Los Colchoneros a two-goal cushion for the second time in the away game.
❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/O1XlcQmdO8
– Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) February 24, 2026
That cleared the players’ minds more than anything, and Atletico began to have fun with 12 minutes remaining. With three to go, Matteo Ruggeri drove the ball to the back post from a short corner, where Sorloth headed in from the left; the Italian has his third assist in two games, and the Norwegian has his fifth goal in his last two games.
All in all, Atletico will feel they did enough to win the tie, as they showed a strong edge in the final third that Brugge lacked. Although the three-goal deficit will seem exaggerated for Brugge, which caused the problems that Los Colchoneros faced for most of the two legs, Atletico handled the second leg better than the first, and when they are on song, they hit the mark. They will face either Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool in the Round of 16.
