Atlético Madrid booked a 1-2 victory over AC Milan in Group B of the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The Italians took the lead in their own stadium with ten men until minute 84, but saw the champion of Spain leave with a victory thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez. Liverpool easily recorded its second victory of this Champions League season: FC Porto were defeated 1-5 in Portugal.
AC Milan – Atletico Madrid 1-2
AC Milan had a great start in their own San Siro, because after twenty minutes there was a lead on the scoreboard. A corner kick that was deflected came through Franck Kessié back into the penalty area, after which the ball came to Rafael Leão via Brahim Díaz. The Portuguese striker checked and scored in the far corner: 1-0. Shortly before Leão – albeit in an offside position – hit the bar with a bicycle kick, AC Milan ran into problems. Kessié received his second yellow card, leaving the home team with ten men after 29 minutes. It took until the start of the second half for Atlético to insist in a surplus situation.
Antoine Griezmann ?? Atlético is very late next to AC Milan’s ten thanks to a nice goal from the French attacker! #ZiggoSport #UCL #MILATL pic.twitter.com/ybbSwl39j9
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 28, 2021
In the first minutes after the break, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Luis Suárez were already very close to the equalizer. Still, it looked for a long time that AC Milan would manage to hold out with ten men, until Antoine Griezmann struck six minutes before the end. Renan Lodi found with the head the attacker who came over from Barcelona, who scored his first goal since his return to Atlético with a low slide. In the seventh minute of injury time, Atlético would also win the game.
Atletico still drag him out of the fire??
The Madrilenians get a knock in the final phase and Suarez will not let that opportunity pass ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #MILATM pic.twitter.com/l1Sm3KQJix
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 28, 2021
Due to interference from the VAR, referee Cüneyt Çakir gave a penalty kick for a handball by substitute Pierre Kalulu deep in injury time, although Thomas Lemar also seemed to make hands. Suárez shot Atlético to victory from eleven yards, as he put the ball through the middle and goalkeeper Mike Maignan went to the left corner. It was his first goal in an away game in the Champions League since September 16, 2015, when he was accurate in the game between Barcelona and AS Roma (1-1). In the 25 away games that followed, Suárez went without a goal. Atlético has four points after two games, while AC Milan is scoreless at the bottom of Group B.
FC Porto – Liverpool 1-5
Liverpool started the Champions League with a win over AC Milan and secured their second victory in Group B in the first half in the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. After eighteen minutes of play, FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa still had an answer to a bet by Curtis Jones, but at the same time enabled Mohamed Salah to hit the open goal for the opening goal. The margin was doubled on the stroke of half-time. A sharp pass from James Milner passed everything and everyone and found Sadio Mané, who could easily score the 0-2.
3-0! ??
Liverpool has no child with Porto and seems to have the 3 points already in the bag ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #PORLIV pic.twitter.com/ZCtdtkroXn
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 28, 2021
After the break Liverpool rumbled on. A chance from Andy Robertson did not yet yield the 0-3, but with exactly one hour on the clock the Reds the margin still. Jones served Salah, who was completely free within the penalty area and controlled his second goal of the evening. With fifteen minutes to play, FC Porto returned something via a striking header from Mehdi Taremi, but it was no longer exciting. Due to a double by Roberto Firmino, Liverpool ran out to a comfortable 1-5 victory in the last fifteen minutes.