Club Brugge 3-3 Atlético Madrid: Onyedika impresses as Atléti held to draw in Belgium | OneFootball

Atlético Madrid were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by an impressive Club Brugge side in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie, with Raphael Onyedika contributing to each of the hosts’ goals.

Diego Simeone’s men took an early lead when Julian Álvarez bundled home from the penalty spot, and while their Belgian hosts threatened to restore parity throughout the first half, it was Ademola Lookman who found the back of the net just before the break to double Atléti’s advantage.

Club Brugge were much more clinical after the interval, though, and quickly dragged themselves level through Raphael Onyedika and Nicolò Tresoldi.

While an unfortunate Joel Ordoñez own goal saw Atléti momentarily take the lead once more, Onyedika teed up Christos Tzolis for a dramatic late equaliser.

As it happened

Atletico Madrid slumped into the play-off places after losing their last four league phase games in the UEFA Champions League, and were desperate to bring an end to their longest losing streak in the competition’s history with a trip to the Jan Breydelstadion on Wednesday.

The visitors didn’t have to wait long to take the lead, with VAR awarding the colchoneros a penalty just five minutes into proceedings after Joaquín Seys was found to have handled the ball – albeit inadvertently – inside the box.

Julian Álvarez stepped up to the spot, despatching a confident effort past Simon Mignolet, who remained rooted to the spot to allow the Argentine his fifth goal in eight Champions League appearances this season.

But Club Brugge, who won their last two league phase games to sneak into the play-off places, sought to fight back quickly and the hosts tested Jan Oblak twice in quick succession, with Raphael Onyedika firing straight at the goalkeeper before Nicolò Tresoldi forced a save at the near post.

Ivan Leko’s men had further opportunities to restore parity through Mamadou Diakhon, although his shot flew well wide of the target before another chance fell for Onyedika, who this time required the Slovenian shotstopper to produce a flying save.

Atléti, against the run of play, managed to double their lead in the dying seconds of the first half when a corner delivery nodded towards the back post by Antoine Griezmann fell perfectly for Ademola Lookman, who became the first player since Hector Herrera in 2019 to score on his first Champions League appearance for the club.

But the hosts seemingly found their shooting boots during the break and looked much more clinical in front of goal after emerging for the second half.

Having squandered those two first-half chances to drag his side level, Onyedika proved to be Club Brugge’s hero, clawing them back into contention with a back-post finish following chaos in the penalty box after a corner.

And the Nigerian wasn’t done there, switching the play out wide for Diakhon less than ten minutes later to allow the winger to cross for Tresoldi at the near post, with the Italian stabbing home past Oblak to restore parity.

Club Brugge has impressed and were deserving of the equaliser against a side that had, just a week ago, put four goals past Hansi Flick’s Barcelona – but they were to be momentarily undone by a cruel turn of fate that saw Joel Ordoñez roll the ball past his own goalkeeper in a bid to keep Alexander Sorloth from latching onto Marcos Llorente’s cross.

But the hosts salvaged a dramatic late equaliser through Christos Tzolis, who picked out the bottom-right corner under pressure with a VAR review confirming that he had timed his run to perfection, setting up a tantalising winner-takes-all tie at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano next Tuesday.

ANALYSIS: Onyedika turns the tide as Atléti left with problems to solve

If Atlético Madrid travelled to Belgium hoping to steady the ship after their late league phase collapse, they instead left with more questions than answers… and a tie that feels far more finely balanced than the two-goal cushion they had built up by half-time suggested it might be.

But Club Brugge were already creating chances, and the warning signs were there before the break, making Atlético’s two-goal half-time lead feel slightly deceptive.

However, there was a palpable momentum shift after the break, driven in no small part by Raphael Onyedika, who unsettled Atléti defensively from the heart of the hosts’ midfield and sparked wave after wave of attacking pressure that ultimately allowed Club Brugge to come from behind and claim a well-deserved draw.

There will be positives for Simeone to take – particularly in the form of Ademola Lookman, who continues to impress after arriving from Atalanta last month – but the inability to manage game states remains concerning. Atlético sides of the past thrived on suffocating opponents when ahead; that is something this team is yet to master.

Next Tuesday’s return leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano is set to be an enthralling winner-takes-all affair, and while the stats may favour Simeone’s men to progress, it is hard to write off the belief that tonight’s draw will have given Club Brugge. Having overturned a two-goal deficit and then clinched a late equaliser after an unfortunate own goal restored Atléti’s lead, Ivan Leko’s men should now travel to Madrid believing that progression is genuinely within their reach.