Atletico Madrid certainly didn’t expect to leave Germany with a loss on Wednesday night after traveling to Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League Group Stage action.

After a surprising 2-1 loss to the Group D cellar-dwellers, Diego Simeone’s men have been left frustrated and they are looking for answers.

The Bundesliga side, who had lost 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in the first UCL Group Stage matchup between the two teams, got revenge in a 2-1 win at their home stadium in a Wednesday night matchup that Bayer fans won’t soon forget.

After a slow first 40 minutes in which both teams demonstrated plenty of fight, but no ability to convert in front of the net, a bizarre own goal by Atletico’s Thomas Partey gave Bayer a 1-0 lead just before the break.

The Colchoneros’ night went from bad to worse when Kevin Volland found the net for the German side in the 55th minute, just ten minutes into the second half. It gave Bayer Leverkusen a 2-0 lead that Atletico was ultimately unable to dig itself out of.

Alvaro Morata rescued a goal for Atleti in extra time to bring the score to 2-1, where it would finish just moments later.

Atleti now finds itself in second place in the group with 7 points, while Bayer Leverkusen is even with Lokomotiv Moscow with 3 points at the bottom of the group standings.

The post Atletico Madrid Upset 2-1 by Bayer Leverkusen appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid, who looked to be in dire straits after winning only one point in their first two Champions League group stage matches, got back on track in a 0-1 win in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The 2017 and 2018 Champions League winners took down a feisty Galatasaray side by the minimum to get back on track for qualification to the knockout stage of play.

German midfielder Toni Kroos scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of action after being set up by a brilliant pass by Eden Hazard. The veteran midfielder rocketed a shot into the top corner of the net that Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera could do nothing to stop.

Despite the two teams combining for 38 total shots (27 for Madrid and 11 for Galatasaray) and 16 shots on goal (13 for Madrid and 3 for Galatasaray), this was the only goal scored in the tense match.

Los Blancos’ defense was able to hold on to keep Galatasaray out of the net despite an offense that kept pushing and a rowdy crowd that did its best to give a burst of home-field advantage to the hosts.

Real Madrid now finds itself with 4 points in Group A of the competition, which puts them five points behind PSG, who has completed a perfect first half of the group stage.

The post Real Madrid Gets Back on Track With 0-1 Win at Galatasaray appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The first day of Champions League group stage action featured a surprise as heavy underdog Valencia upset Chelsea 0-1 in their Group H opener.

Los Che, who finished fourth in La Liga last season and won the Copa del Rey competition, appeared unfazed by the raucous environment at Stamford Bridge in London and held strong until Rodrigo Moreno was able to score the game-winning goal in the 74th minute of the match.

Chelsea was simply unable to find the net, despite a few clear chances and a penalty awarded by VAR for a handball committed by Valencia winger Daniel Wass in the 87th minute, which Ross Barkley clanged off of the crossbar.

That lack of finishing ability ruined Chelsea manager Frank Lampard’s debut as a coach in the Champions League competition and puts them in a hole going forward in what could be a challenging group. Ajax defeated Lille 3-0 to gain three points along with Valencia.

The win is even more unlikely considering all of the turmoil experienced by Valencia last week. The team fired coach Marcelino Garcia after a slow start to the season despite his run of success with the club over the past two seasons, replacing him with Albert Celades.

Celades struck gold in his first Champions League match, putting Valencia in a position to challenge for a spot in the competition’s knockout rounds.

The post Valencia Upsets Chelsea 0-1 at Stamford Bridge in UCL Opener appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Atletico Madrid certainly didn’t expect to leave Germany with a loss on Wednesday night after traveling to Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League Group Stage action.

After a surprising 2-1 loss to the Group D cellar-dwellers, Diego Simeone’s men have been left frustrated and they are looking for answers.

The Bundesliga side, who had lost 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in the first UCL Group Stage matchup between the two teams, got revenge in a 2-1 win at their home stadium in a Wednesday night matchup that Bayer fans won’t soon forget.

After a slow first 40 minutes in which both teams demonstrated plenty of fight, but no ability to convert in front of the net, a bizarre own goal by Atletico’s Thomas Partey gave Bayer a 1-0 lead just before the break.

The Colchoneros’ night went from bad to worse when Kevin Volland found the net for the German side in the 55th minute, just ten minutes into the second half. It gave Bayer Leverkusen a 2-0 lead that Atletico was ultimately unable to dig itself out of.

Alvaro Morata rescued a goal for Atleti in extra time to bring the score to 2-1, where it would finish just moments later.

Atleti now finds itself in second place in the group with 7 points, while Bayer Leverkusen is even with Lokomotiv Moscow with 3 points at the bottom of the group standings.

The post Atletico Madrid Upset 2-1 by Bayer Leverkusen appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid, who looked to be in dire straits after winning only one point in their first two Champions League group stage matches, got back on track in a 0-1 win in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The 2017 and 2018 Champions League winners took down a feisty Galatasaray side by the minimum to get back on track for qualification to the knockout stage of play.

German midfielder Toni Kroos scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of action after being set up by a brilliant pass by Eden Hazard. The veteran midfielder rocketed a shot into the top corner of the net that Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera could do nothing to stop.

Despite the two teams combining for 38 total shots (27 for Madrid and 11 for Galatasaray) and 16 shots on goal (13 for Madrid and 3 for Galatasaray), this was the only goal scored in the tense match.

Los Blancos’ defense was able to hold on to keep Galatasaray out of the net despite an offense that kept pushing and a rowdy crowd that did its best to give a burst of home-field advantage to the hosts.

Real Madrid now finds itself with 4 points in Group A of the competition, which puts them five points behind PSG, who has completed a perfect first half of the group stage.

The post Real Madrid Gets Back on Track With 0-1 Win at Galatasaray appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The first day of Champions League group stage action featured a surprise as heavy underdog Valencia upset Chelsea 0-1 in their Group H opener.

Los Che, who finished fourth in La Liga last season and won the Copa del Rey competition, appeared unfazed by the raucous environment at Stamford Bridge in London and held strong until Rodrigo Moreno was able to score the game-winning goal in the 74th minute of the match.

Chelsea was simply unable to find the net, despite a few clear chances and a penalty awarded by VAR for a handball committed by Valencia winger Daniel Wass in the 87th minute, which Ross Barkley clanged off of the crossbar.

That lack of finishing ability ruined Chelsea manager Frank Lampard’s debut as a coach in the Champions League competition and puts them in a hole going forward in what could be a challenging group. Ajax defeated Lille 3-0 to gain three points along with Valencia.

The win is even more unlikely considering all of the turmoil experienced by Valencia last week. The team fired coach Marcelino Garcia after a slow start to the season despite his run of success with the club over the past two seasons, replacing him with Albert Celades.

Celades struck gold in his first Champions League match, putting Valencia in a position to challenge for a spot in the competition’s knockout rounds.

The post Valencia Upsets Chelsea 0-1 at Stamford Bridge in UCL Opener appeared first on SportzBonanza.