Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid has become a regular in the Champions League knockout stages, but they won't find themselves in the Round of 16 this time around. The LaLiga giants played to a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and had the chance to grab the three points and progress when Yannick Carrasco stepped up to the spot for a penalty in injury time at the death.
What happened next was truly gut-wrenching for every Atleti fan out there. Leverkusen keeper Lucas Hradecky first saved the PK, then Saul Niguez clanked the rebound off the crossbar, and for their final chance, defender Reinildo couldn't beat the visitors' backline. Absolute mayhem:
THIS IS HOW ATLETICO MADRID JUST GOT ELIMINATED FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE🤯pic.twitter.com/qdHGzLxYib
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) October 26, 2022
Atletico Madrid has collected just five points through their first five UCL games and needed a victory to keep their knockout stage dreams alive. Leverkusen is actually at the bottom of Group B and has no chance of progressing, but they were just simply excited to eliminate one of the more successful clubs in this competition.
In fact, this is the first time since the 2017-18 campaign that Atleti has failed to move on to the Round of 16. Certainly a disappointment knowing they were so close to keeping their chances alive heading into matchday six.
But, Atletico Madrid isn't the only La Liga standout who will potentially drop back into Europa. Barcelona, a domestic rival, suffered a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. This is the second year in a row the Catalans find themselves in Europe's second-best competition.
Reigning champions Real Madrid look to be the only Spanish side heading through to the knockouts, sporting a 3-1-1 record in Group F so far and already qualifying for the next round.
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