Leverkusen's Late Goals In Three Minutes Beat Atletico In Champions League

Leverkusen's late goals in three minutes, Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 2-0 on Robert Lewandowski's return to Bavaria in the Champions League on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, thanks to a superb chip from Leroy Sane.

Bayern's France defender Lucas Hernandez headed in a corner to open the scoring, but Sane put the game out of reach for the visitors.

Leverkusen scored twice in the final six minutes to claim only their second win of the season and leapfrog Atletico into second place in Group B.

Leverkusen's Late Goals In Three Minutes Game

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Bayern Munich appears to be getting the better of Barcelona regardless of which shirt Robert Lewandowski is wearing.

Bayern extended its recent dominance over the Spanish giant with a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Tuesday, demonstrating that it can function quite well without Lewandowski, who left in the offseason to join Barcelona.

Before kickoff, Lewandowski walked down the familiar steps of the Allianz Arena players' tunnel, hugging each of his former teammates along the way.

Once the game began, Bayern's players did not extend the same level of hospitality. After Lewandowski missed several good scoring chances in the first half, Lucas Hernández and Leroy Sané scored within five minutes of each other in the second half to help Bayern take control of Group C with two wins in two games.

In the 19th minute, Lewandowski latched onto a dipping pass from Pedri but shot too high, just tickling the top of the crossbar.

Only one minute later, Poland's forward received the ball again just meters from Bayern's goal, but Manuel Neuer saved his header from close range.

Rafinha, making his Champions League debut after joining from Leeds in the summer, drilled a low shot past a stranded Neuer after 27 minutes, but the Brazilian missed the goal by an inch.

Referee Danny Makkelie waved away Barcelona's penalty appeals in the closing stages of the half after Alphonso Davies brought down Ousmane on the edge of the box, with replays showing the Canadian made clear contact with the Frenchman's legs.

At halftime, Bayern coach Julian substituted Leon Goretzka for Marcel Sabitzer, and the former's rocket from outside the box was deflected out by Stegen for a corner, from which Hernandez scored.

The Atletico Defeat

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid was defeated 2-0 by Bayer Leverkusen's late goals in three minutes, from Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby.

Leverkusen scored twice in the final six minutes to claim only their second win of the season and leapfrog Atletico into second place in Group B.

Jonathan Tah, a Leverkusen defender, stated,

Atletico captain Koke told Movistar+ that his team would have to be "self-critical" after allowing the game to slip away late in the game.

“We felt like we were in control, and then they hit us with two counter-attacks,” he said. “We should have given more today, we have to be self-critical.”

Andrich had an early chance to put Leverkusen ahead, but he smashed the ball over the bar from close range after only seven minutes.

After an apparent handball by defender Edmond Tapsoba midway through the first half, Atletico was denied a penalty.

Despite the fact that the ball struck Tapsoba's outstretched arm in the box, English official Michael Oliver decided against a spot-kick after a brief discussion with the video assistant referee.

“The referee didn’t tell us anything about the decision, he simply told us to carry on playing,” said Koke.

The hosts should have taken the lead shortly after halftime, but they hit the crossbar twice in the space of a few seconds.

In a one-on-one with Atletico keeper Ivo Grbic, Patrik Schick hit the crossbar from close range, before Adam Hlozek headed the rebound onto the post.

Both teams had additional chances to take the lead before Andrich and Diaby scored two smash-and-grab goals in the final minutes.

On 84 minutes, Andrich curled the opener into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, before Diaby tucked in the second three minutes later at the end of a vicious counter-attack.

On October 4, Atletico Madrid will play Group B leaders Club Brugge, while Leverkusen will play Porto.

A Hug For Lewandowski

After the game, Nagelsmann told the media that he hoped the victory would put an end to speculation about Lewandowski.

"He played a good game. From our point of view, I'm happy that he didn't score - but I think we saw he was dangerous."

"After the game, I saw him and I hugged him, but he plays for a different club and I have different players I need to look out for.

"This week I had 65 questions on Lewandowski. You can ask those questions to Xavi now because he's not my player anymore."

Barcelona's 19-year-old midfielder Pedri said Bayern made his side pay for failing to take their chances.

"In the first half we had a lot of chances to score and when you forgive so much against a team like this, you end up paying for it," he added.

On October 26th, Bayern travels to Camp Nou for the rematch.

Conclusion

To sum it up, in their Champions League group-stage game, struggling Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to earn a 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid. Leverkusen's late goals in three minutes pulled off a win at home to Madrid to kick-start its Champions League campaign and ease the pressure on coach Gerardo Seoane.

Both teams picked up the pace in the final ten minutes, but it was Leverkusen who broke through.