Football Espana
·21 January 2026
Round-up: Athletic Club seal crucial Champions League win, Atletico Madrid held in Türkiye

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Yahoo sportsFootball Espana
·21 January 2026

MD7 of the league phase in the 2025-26 Champions League came to an end on Wednesday, with three La Liga sides involved. Barcelona won away at Slavia Prague in their match, while also in action were Atletico Madrid and Athletic Club.

Image via Diario AS
Galatasaray 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid are up against it in the bid to avoided the dreaded play-off tie, having played out a draw at Rams Park. They had made an excellent start when Giuliano Simeone headed home Matteo Ruggeri’s cross after only four minutes, but Galatasaray were soon on level terms when Marcos Llorente turned the ball into his own net.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the second half, but there were no further goals. It means that Diego Simeone’s side are 12th in the league phase standings, and while a win against Bodo/Glimt next week would be enough, they need other results to go their way.

Image via Image via Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Atalanta 2-3 Athletic Club
Athletic Club still have hope of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, having come from behind to defeat Atalanta. The home side took the lead in the first half courtesy of Gianluca Scamacca, and after hanging on until the hour mark, they scored three times in 16 minutes.
Gorka Guruzeta made it 1-1, before an excellent volley from substitute Nico Serrano gave Los Leones the lead. Robert Navarro set up both goals, and he got in on the act himself to make it 3-1 on 74 minutes. Nikola Krstovic scored late on to set up a nervy finish, but Ernesto Valverde’s side hung on for a fantastic win.
These three crucial points means that a win at home to Sporting CP next week should be enough for Athletic to stamp their ticket for the play-off round, but as is the case with Atleti, it could come down to goal difference.







































