Last minute goal give us the win
A late goal scored by Griezmann gave us the win on our opener Champions League game at home.
Diego Pablo Simeone's team started the match very active, looking for verticality on the Portuguese goal. The first chance of the match came from a long free kick by Carrasco, which went just inches over the crossbar. In the following minutes the game took on a different rhythm, with Porto having longer possessions without creating danger for Oblak's goal and Atleti looking to strike on the counter. In the 37th minute Koke had one of the best chances of the game after a low cross from Carrasco, but Diogo Costa saved the shot. Just before the break, Porto had their most dangerous chance, a pass from Taremi that didn't come to fruition and the red and white defence managed to clear. We reached half-time with a draw in a game that, despite being very tightly contested, did not have many chances to score.
After the break, Atleti started the second half very much in the game. In the 50th minute, Koke received a ball cleared by the rival defence on the edge of the area and put the ball just inside the post, impossible for Diogo Costa. What seemed to be the 1-0 finally did not go up on the scoreboard due to an offside by De Paul at the start of the play. Porto responded five minutes later with a long-range shot from Eustaquio that forced Oblak to stretch to send the ball out for a corner. A few minutes later, a cross from João Mário again required the intervention of Oblak. Another dangerous action on the red and white goal came in the 69th minute, with Eustaquio's back pass being cleared by the defence with the help of the Slovenian goalkeeper. In the 82nd minute, Porto's Taremi was sent off for a double yellow card, giving Atleti numerical superiority in the final stages of the game. In stoppage time, De Paul dribbled past several opponents and gave the ball to Correa in the box, who gave the ball to Hermoso who, after a cut-back, shot to make it 1-0 to the jubilation of the entire red and white crowd. Moments after the game was replayed at the Cívitas Metropolitano, a ball into the box hit the hand of the former Atleti striker, Hermoso. The Polish referee did not hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot. Uribe would be in charge of taking the spot-kick and, despite Oblak coming close to the ball, the Colombian would equalise the match.
With time about to expire, when it seemed that the draw was going to be the final result, in the last play of the match, Atleti would have a corner in their favour. Lemar was in charge of taking the corner, a cross to the near post that Witsel headed to the far post where Griezmann appeared to finish and beat Diogo Costa. The whole stadium went wild with celebration as the referee signalled the end of the game.
The late goal gave the victory to Atleti, who thus got their first three points and took the lead in group B. The next stop on our European tour will be on Tuesday 13 September at 9pm in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen.
