It was a good night for Atletico Madrid as they came away the winners in a tense penalty shootout against German opposition Bayer Leverkusen while the Ligue 1 side AS Monaco managed to hold on for an away-goal aggregate victory against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen (1-1 aggregate, 3-2 penalty kicks)
Mario Suarez was the man who made all the difference as a fiery Atletico Madrid side went up against a very defensive Bayer Leverkusen in the Estadio Vicente Calderon. Suarez was the man to score a lucky but deserved goal that put Atletico level on aggregate and bought them their ticket to overtime and the eventual penalty win. The night did not start out well for the home side as they were forced to bring on their second-string goalkeeper when Moya was unlucky enough to pull his hamstring just scooping up the ball. Simeone didn’t risk his number one, and the twenty-two-year-old replacement, Oblak, was brought on. The young man did a fantastic job between the posts for Atletico. Suarez’s goal in the 26th minute unleashed the full-on attacking power of his team. Simeone’s men were definitely the better team on the night although their signature flowing play was repeatedly broken up by hard tackles from Leverkusen’s frazzled defensive players. As the play heated up, Leverkusen’s young defender Wendell was a standout player for the visitors, making a brilliant tackle to deny the seasoned Mandzukic a chance on goal. Leverkusen’s relentless tackles to stall and break up the dangerous flow to Atletico’s game was tactical genius from coach Roger Schmidt although it was met with equally relentless boos and hisses from the emphatic home fans.
Box-to-box action opened the second half but neither side were able to find the back of the net. Simeone brought on the experienced striker Fernando Torres, no stranger to big European matches, but his fresh legs and constant pushes towards goal were not enough to avoid overtime. While the home side boosted their attack, Kiessling and Rolfes were brought on for Leverkusen to help the determined Calhanoglu do the dirty work in front of the defensive line. At the end of the ninety, Mario Suarez’s deflected shot under the arms of Leno was the goal that held the two sides to a stalemate and into overtime. With exhausted legs and weary minds, both teams gave it everything they had. Atletico’s Raul Garcia needed patching up in the first half of extra time after he took Rolfes elbow to the face and Schmidt used his third and final substitution to bring on defender Papadoplous. Fresh legs would be needed as the two teams faced a penalty shootout. It was not one for the history books.
Garcia stepped up to the spot for the home side and missed the golden opportunity to put them one up. Luckily for the Spaniard, Calhanoglu’s weak kick up the middle didn’t make it past the fast hands of Oblek. With the teams tied at zero, Greizmann made no mistake when he stepped up and slammed a perfect penalty past Leno. Rolfes also made no mistake as he netted his kick donning the captain’s armband and Atletico’s goalscoring hero Suarez followed in suit to top off his successful night. Toprak, Leverkusen’s Turkish defender who had not been having the best game of his career, was next to step up and put his side level but his effort sailed over the crossbar and into the hoards of Atletico fans. Atletico were two-one up. The home side’s captain, Koke, stepped up to take the next kick and his clinical effort was denied by a fantastic swan-dive save from Leno. Castro took advantage of Leno’s heroics and put his side level. Fernando Torres, with his reputation for missing sitters, was the man to take Atletico’s last kick and the home-grown striker buried an absolutely text-book penalty into the side netting. All of the pressure rested on the shoulders of German international Kiessling. With one step up to the ball, the striker sent his penalty over the crossbar and the victory belonged to Atletico.
Many emotions surround a penalty shootout. On the night, Atletico were the better side but many would argue that the Germans deserved to go through as they put up a good fight against an experienced and talented team. Simeone’s men should be proud of their stamina and heart, fighting to the bitter end in spite of having played five more matches so far this season than their opponents.
AS Monaco 0-2 Arsenal (3-3 aggregate, Monaco advance on away goals)
Arsene Wenger and his men knew that they were going to need to battle hard if they were to overcome the shocking 3-1 deficit they created for themselves at the Emirates against Monaco. Wenger’s former side came to London and completely picked apart the Gunnars, netting three on the night with ease and grace. Arsenal’s consolation goal came in the form of the young Englishman Oxlade-Chamberlain, a key player that they were forced to travel without due to injury. With a limited side to choose from thanks to illness and injury, Wenger fielded a starting eleven who failed to look at all inspired as they played out a dull first half in the midfield. Olivier Giroud was the man to breath some life into his side ten minutes from the end of the first half when he netted a cheeky volley past Subasic after the keeper spilled his initial effort and gifted the striker with a second chance. Giroud and Welbeck connected once again before the half but Welbeck’s shot deflected off of a defender and dribbled just wide of the goal.
In the second half, Arsenal showed the fighting spirit that they lacked in the first half while the home side, who were rightfully relaxed with their two-goal cushion in the first forty-five, suddenly found themselves scrambling to hold off Arsenal’s siege on their goal. Proceedings started to get chippy, but Arsenal were starting to dominate. In the 78th minute, the second goal that everyone could surely sense coming arrived in the form of a decisive strike from substitute Aaron Ramsey. Walcott took the initial shot that followed a brilliant series of passes from the visitors to cut clear through Monaco’s defense but unfortunately rocketed off the post. The Welshman was there to pick up the pieces and put Arsenal level on aggregate but still short the goal that would put them past Monaco’s away-goal advantage and into the quarter-finals.
Thanks to some fantastic saves from Monaco’s Subasic, Arsenal were unable to pull off the comeback of the campaign. The two teams played out a thriller, but Monaco’s dominant form in the first-leg was enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals.
