Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen: 3 Talking Points

Bayer Leverkusen travelled to the Spanish capital to take on Atletico Madrid, and they were in dire need of points having lost their preceding two games. The Germans had a commendable performance, however, their tame efforts in and around the Atleti penalty area allowed the Spanish team to nick the game via a clinical finish.

After a barren one hour largely dominated by Peter Bosz's men, Alvaro Morata reared his head in the 78th minute, connecting with a Renan Lodi cross and sent the ball beyond the reach of Leverkusen's Lukas Hradecky.

The win took Atleti to 7 points, with 2 victories and a draw. They are firmly nestled behind Juventus in 2nd place, thanks to the Turin club's superior goal difference. Leverkusen, on the other hand, are rock bottom of the group with zero points, and they will need to put their best foot forward in the upcoming group games to qualify for the Europa League at least.

Here we discuss some interesting points from the encounter.

#1 Bayer Leverkusen dominant but tame in front of goal

Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen - Saul Niguez (left) and Kevin Volland (right)

Peter Bosz's men entered this encounter in need of a win, and they certainly played with the urgency the fixture required. However, the team once again failed to dazzle in front of goal when it mattered, wasting opportunities over and over.

The German team had managed to score just a single goal in the competition before the encounter, and once again they were shy in front of goal. Leverkusen had an impressive 60 per cent of the ball at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, they failed to make all that dominance count, as their game-high 12 shots could only trouble Atleti's Jan Oblak on one occasion.

#2 Bayer Leverkusen's Champions League woes continue

It has been a very disappointing UCL campaign for Bayer Leverkusen so far, as the Germans were put in a group in which they were expected to rattle the big two and maybe qualify in second place, or at the very least pass for the Europa League in a comfortable third-place finish.

However, what we have witnessed so far is an unflattering campaign, with 3 consecutive losses and no points picked up. They also have scored just a single goal in three matchdays, and they couldn't even muster a shot on target in the huge 3-0 loss to Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus.

The Germans will need to dig deep to pick up vital points in unexpected places if they are to have a sniff of qualification for the knockout phase. However, the probability of that happening is very slim.

#3 An inspired substitution

Alvaro Morata celebrates the goal with Diego Simeone

It was a less than stellar outing for Atletico Madrid, as they were continually hassled by the visitors, finishing second in terms of possession and total shots. However, Diego Simeone's men came out on top when it came to the most important statistic, thanks to the aerial ability of Alvaro Morata.

In the 70th minute, Simeone rolled the dice with his final allotted substitution, and he sent on Morata for Koke. Eight minutes later, an Atleti attacking manoeuvre ended with Renan Lodi delivering a textbook cross onto the path of Morata in the box. The former Chelsea man connected with a header worthy of the cross, sending the ball beyond the reach of a bewildered Lukas Hradecky for the win.