UCL: Atleti fight off pesky Dutch champs, Shakhtar shock the Great Old

Álvaro Morata scored twice to decide a thrilling clash with Feyenoord and end a run of six Champions League group stage matches without a win for Atlético Madrid. The visitors put on a superb show in the two sides’ maiden competitive meeting, but their 20-year wait for a Champions League away victory goes on.

Despite missing 10-goal danger man Santiago Giménez through suspension, Feyenoord immediately went on the offensive at the Metropolitano Stadium, and the visitors were rewarded for their early pressure in a remarkable first half. It was Giménez’s replacement, Ayase Ueda, who looked to have notched the game’s opener after a darting run in behind, but a closer inspection showed Mario Hermoso getting the final touch, and the unfortunate Spaniard was consequently credited with an own goal.

A slow starting Atléti were in desperate need of a shot in the arm, and before long, Morata was there to provide it, coming out on the right side of a dubious offside call and slotting past Timon Wellenreuther. With chances flowing for both sides in a frantic opening half an hour, Feyenoord found themselves back in front when defender Dávid Hancko tapped in his own rebound, but there was still time for the pendulum to swing the hosts’ way once more. And it was no surprise to see Antoine Griezmann take the bull by the horns, as the Rojiblancos veteran sent an improvised, close-range bicycle kick looping into the net on the stroke of halftime.

The pace of the contest picked up where it left off after the break, and the hosts waited less than two minutes after the restart to take the lead for the first time. Morata timed his run to perfection and found the bottom corner, but Nahuel Molina’s sumptuous early cross was the decisive moment of quality that had Diego Simeone jumping for joy. On a night which saw the defeated team enhance their reputation, Arne Slot’s Feyenoord threw caution to the wind until the final whistle, as Igor Paixão’s right-footed rocket missed the crossbar by inches and Jan Oblak smothered a glorious opportunity for substitute Yankuba Minteh.

It was by no means straightforward, but Atléti successfully protected their unbeaten home record stretching back to January. A trip to Celtic awaits in three weeks’ time, while Lazio at home is the next Champions League assignment for Feyenoord, who are still in a healthy position to fight for the knockout rounds after winning their group stage opener.

Elsewhere, Shakhtar Donetsk pulled off a stunning comeback as they beat Royal Antwerp 3-2 in the Champions League. The Ukrainian outfit had found themselves 2-0 down after a poor first half, but a brace from Danylo Sikan helped the Miners, who survived a last-gasp penalty miss, pick up a famous victory in Belgium.

The hosts made an electric start, taking the lead after just three minutes through Arbnor Muja, who dipped past one tackle and curled into the far corner from inside the box after a cheap turnover of possession. The forward then sent a fizzing volley from the edge of the area narrowly over the bar, while Vincent Janssen fired just wide from a similar distance as the pace with which the Belgian side moved the ball saw them cause no end of problems.

It took until midway through the half for Shahktar to work their way into the game, and they should have equalised when Mykola Matvienko clipped wide from inside the six-yard box. They soon found themselves 2-0 down though as Michel-Ange Balikwisha deservedly doubled the lead by running onto Arthur Vermeeren’s through ball and confidently stroking past goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.

Patrick van Leeuwen likely gave his side an earful at the break, as they pulled one back minutes after the restart following a manic 10 seconds of action. Heorhiy Sudakov initially hit the post with a fierce strike, which bounced out to Yehor Nazaryna, and although his effort was saved, Sikan met the rebound to find the back of the net.

Antwerp were stunned and spent much of the following minutes on the back foot as they struggled to regain control of the game. Vermeeren did break forward and have one low effort stopped, but that was against the tide as the visitors equalised through Yaroslav Rakitskyi’s free-kick which took a heavy deflection off Balikwisha and wrong-footed Jean Butez.

It was Shakhtar’s game to lose from there, and a clanger from Butez gifted them a third when he desperately and needlessly kept the ball in play, only to palm straight to Nazaryna, who crossed for Sikan to volley home. Antwerp rallied, but home-town hero Toby Alderweireld missed a pivotal penalty with the final kick of the game as the Miners ended their six-game winless run in the competition, while the hosts’ search for a first-ever Champions League point goes on.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2

Tuesday

Union Berlin - Braga 2-3 (2-1)

/Becker 30, 37 - Niakate 41, Bruma 51, Castro 90+3/

Salzburg - Sociedad 0-2 (0-2)

/Oyarzabal 7, Mendez 27/

Copenhagen - Bayern 1-2 (0-0)

/Lerager 55 - Musiala 67, Tel 83/

Man.Utd. - Galatasaray 2-3 (1-1)

/Hojlund 17, 67 - Zaha 23, Akturkoglu 72, Icardi 81/

Lens - Arsenal 2-1 (1-1)

/Thomasson 25, Wahi 69 - Jesus 14/

PSV - Sevilla 2-2 (0-0)

/De Jong (p) 86, Teze 90+5 - Gudelj 68, El-Nesyri 87/

Napoli - Real Madrid 2-3 (1-2)

/Ostigard 19, Zielinski 54(p) - Vinicius 27, Bellingham 34, Meret 78/

Inter - Benfica 1-0 (0-0)

/Thuram 62/

Wednesday

Atl.Madrid - Feyenoord 3-2 (2-2)

/Morata 12, 48, Griezmann 45+4, - Hermoso 7 og, Hancko 34/

Antwerp - Shakhtar 2-3 (2-0)

/Muja 3, Balikwisha 33 - Sikan 48, 76, Rakitskiy 71/

22:00: (3.00) Celtic (3.50) Lazio (2.45)

22:00: (2.40) Dortmund (3.50) Milan (3.05)

22:00: (2.50) Newcastle (3.60) PSG (2.90)

22:00: (2.20) Crvena Zvezda (3.50) Young Boys (3.45)

22:00: (5.40) RB Leipzig (4.10) Man.City (1.67)

22:00: (4.20) Porto (3.60) Barcelona (1.95)

***odds are subject to change***