Mignolet was an impregnable wall
Our team was better than Brugge, had the chances but crashed against Mignolet, who stopped everything. Now it's time to think about winning the two remaining games against Bayer Leverkusen at home and at Porto to get through to the last 16.
If in Bruges, our team had countless chances to have had a different result in Belgium, in the Cívitas Metropolitano the script was the same again. Even more so because the only goalkeeper who had any work to do in the first half was Mignolet. Our team became more in tune as the minutes went by. Control of the ball, control of the game and clear chances that went begging, either due to lack of accuracy or the saves of the visiting goalkeeper.
The first and almost the only chance of the first half went to Brugge. Olsen's cross was headed wide by Jutglá in the 10th minute. From then on, it was a red and white monologue with Griezmann and Correa in stellar form, being a constant nightmare for the Belgian defence. On the quarter-hour mark, Lemar stole a ball, set up Griezmann, who beat the defender with a shot but his shot was saved by Mignolet with his foot. A minute later, Correa's cross was headed in by Griezmann and saved by the goalkeeper. In the 20th minute, a great move between Griezmann, Koke and Correa with a final pass from the captain to the '10', and his shot went just wide of the Belgian goal's left-hand post.
In the 22nd minute it was Lemar who tried his luck but his shot went just wide of the post. A minute later, another good team move with a final pass to Correa, who rounded Mignolet, shot and Saúl, under the posts, pushed the ball into the net. The goal was disallowed for offside. Our team continued their siege and in the 26th minute a cross from Saúl was headed in by Griezmann and Mignolet turned it behind for a corner with a prodigious hand.
Makkelie pointed to a penalty for Buchanan's fall in a clash with Molina. The VAR called the Dutch referee and after reviewing the play he did not signal the penalty he had initially indicated.
The second half started as the first had gone, with overwhelming dominance and chances for our team. In the 48th minute, another goal was disallowed, this time to Correa, for offside. Griezmann had shot, Mignolet had cleared as best he could and Correa had pushed the ball into the net. But then Savic's through ball to Saúl and the Elche man's left-footed shot was saved by the keeper.
Simeone decided to make a triple change a quarter of an hour into the second half. Correa, Lemar and Koke left their places to Carrasco, Morata and De Paul. The team continued in the same way, turning on the Belgian side, whose lines were getting further and further back. In the 71st minute, a free kick by De Paul was headed in by Giménez and saved by the goalkeeper. And, the clearest of all, in the 88th minute, when Mignolet deflected Morata's close-range effort behind for a corner. An unfair result at the end. Now it's all down to finding a win against Bayer Leverkusen at the Cívitas Metropolitano and on the final matchday at Do Dragao against Porto.
