Atlético loses derby, draw for Porto and Leverkusen

Like Club, Blauw-Zwart's three European opponents were also unable to win this weekend. Atlético Madrid lost the city derby against Real 1-2, while Porto and Leverkusen both fell short of a 1-1 draw.

Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid 1-2

After the defeat against Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid hoped to recover in the city derby against Real Madrid. In their own Wanda Metropolitano, however, they went down 1-2. Diego Simeone brought on two Red Devils with Axel Witsel and Yannick Carrasco, but they could not prevent Real from taking the lead after just over a quarter of an hour. On a pass from Tchouaméni, Brazilian Rodrygo opened the scoring. Shortly before halftime, it was even 0-2. After an attack with 22 passes, Vinícius first hit the post, but in the rebound Federico Valverde was quick to tap in the 0-2. Atlético tried to get back into the game, but struggled against Carlo Ancelotti's block. In the 83rd minute, Mario Hermoso stepped up to score the tying goal, making for a very exciting finale. In injury time, however, the same Hermoso picked up his second yellow card, leaving Atlético with ten men. The score did not change, leaving Atlético empty-handed. Diego Simeone's team is already eight points behind city rival Real. (SF)

Atlético Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Felipe, Witsel, Reinildo, Carrasco (72' Hermoso), de Paul (62' Morata), Kondogbia (81' Saul), Koke (72' Correa), Joao Felix (62' Cunha), Griezmann.
Goals: 18' Rodrygo (0-1), 36' Valverde (0-2), 83' Hermoso (1-2).

Estoril - FC Porto 1-1

After the tough 0-4 loss against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Porto had a difficult away game in the league. It came no further than a 1-1 draw at Estoril. Only deep into injury time could Mehdi Taremi save a point via a penalty kick.

After an extended round of study, it was the home team that created the first danger: goalkeeper Costa turned away a shot by Erison and in the recovery Gouveia aimed at the post. Porto's reaction immediately followed, but twice the referee disallowed a goal. First Evanilson was offside on an owngoal, and moments later Sanusi scored from an offside position. However, it was Estoril that went into halftime with a lead. Tiago Gouveia headed a cross from a tight angle past goalkeeper Costa into the goal.

After halftime, Porto got into the game better and increased their threat in search of that equalizer. Striker Taremi went close with a long-distance shot that hit the crossbar. The home side lurked on the counter, but Costa responded well to Geraldes' threat. Despite a second yellow card for Estoril player Ndiaye and a string of substitutions, Porto struggled to score. The goal wood once again stood in the way of a header chance from Veron on a free kick. Only deep into injury time did the 1-1 draw finally come via penalty kick. After a hand play in the penalty area, Mehdi Taremi neatly tapped the eleven-meter into the goal. With this point loss, FC Porto remains in third place in the standings. (KN)

FC Porto: Diogo Costa - Zaidu Sanusi (81' Danny Loader), David Carmo, Fabio Cardoso, Rodrigo Conceicao (72' Toni Martinez) - Pepe, Stephen Eustaquio (82' Marko Grujic), Mateus Uribe, Andre Franco (59' Wenderson Galeno) - Mehdi Taremi, Evanilson (72' Gabriel Veron).
Goals: 41' Gouveia (1-0), 96' Taremi (penalty, 1-1).

Bayer Leverkusen - Werder Bremen 1-1

After last Tuesday's win against Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen went in search of the three points against Werder Bremen at home. Leverkusen hoped to get away from the bottom of the German Bundesliga. Werder Bremen has an excellent record this season, so it by no means announced itself as an easy task for Seoane's troops.

The first half was initially lackluster, but when Andrich hit the crossbar, it ushered in a more pleasant period. Frimpong kicked a distance shot wide, but Hradecky also had to show himself and kept Fullkrug from a goal. The score at the start of the game was similarly on the board at halftime.

After halftime, the same Fullkrug was stopped by Tapsoba at the moment he wanted to kick at goal. Moments later, it was Bayer Leverkusen's turn. Kossounou, who completed the ninety minutes, found Demirbay who worked the ball beautifully into goal. His third goal in the last three games in the Bundesliga. For a long time, this goal seemed to ensure the three points. It would mark only Leverkusen's second win during this season. However, this was beyond Werder Bremen. They have already built a reputation for late goals by now and did it again in the BayArena. In the 82nd minute, Hradecky unseated the ball insufficiently and Veljkovic managed to work the ball into the nets. The match thus ended in a draw, a score that does not help Leverkusen in particular in the standings. They remain in 15th place, just above the relegation zone. (EV)

Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky, Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie (84' Bakker), Andrich, Demirbay (61' Aranguiz), Frimpong (69' Hlozek), Hudson-Odoi (84' Azmoun), Diaby, Schick.
Goals: 57' Demirbay (1-0), 82' Veljkovic (1-1).