Goals from Kamal Soweh and Ferran Jutgla enabled Club Brugge to maintain their perfect Champions League record with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
The Belgian champions made it three Group B victories out of three at Jan Breydel Stadium to move another step closer to securing a surprise spot in the last 16.
Soweh was on target in the first half and Jutgla doubled the lead for Carl Hoefkens’ side, who are six points clear at the summit.
Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty as Atleti suffered a defeat that leaves them bottom of the group, but level on three points with Porto and Bayer Leverkusen with three matches to play.
The early signs were promising for the LaLiga side, with Griezmann forcing a save from Simon Mignolet with the best chance of the first quarter.
But Brugge shrewdly grew into the match, and when Sowah nudged home Jutgla’s cross from close range, they had a deserved lead 36 minutes in.
Atletico made a bright start to the second half, but Jutgla stunned them by rifling home after the visitors failed to clear.
A spot-kick for a foul on Matheus Cunha presented a route back into the match, but Griezmann’s effort struck the woodwork, summing up a poor night for Diego Simeone’s men.
What does it mean? Brugge dare to dream
Even in one of the more open Champions League groups on paper, Brugge were not expected to be setting the pace.
But they continue to exceed expectations and are well on course to advance from Group B. Atleti have suffered two defeats from three, but it is still all to play for.
Mignolet delivers late heroics
Former Liverpool keeper Mignolet made a couple of impressive late saves to keep Atleti at bay on another memorable evening for Brugge.
He made five saves in total as toothless Atleti fired a blank.
Woe for Griezmann
Griezmann has only scored 10 of the 16 penalties he has taken in all competitions for Atleti, finding the back of the net with just four from seven in the Champions League.
He had scored eight in a row for the LaLiga side before this failure from the spot.
What’s next?
Both teams return to domestic competition on Saturday, with Brugge facing Westerlo and Atletico hosting Girona.
