Alvarez sends Atletico past Leverkusen late as both sides see red

MADRID — Julian Alvarez scored a second-half brace as a 10-man Atletico Madrid came from a goal down to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at home on Tuesday, and take a major step towards a top-eight finish.

Atletico midfielder Pablo Barrios was sent off for a nasty, studs-up challenge after 23 minutes and Leverkusen took advantage as Piero Hincapie put the visiting side ahead in first-half stoppage time.

Buoyed on by a fiery 70,000-strong home crowd, Atletico lifted in the second, Alvarez finishing off a length-of-the-field counter to equalize after 52 minutes.

Goalscorer Hincapie picked up a second yellow with 14 minutes remaining and Atletico smelt blood, Alvarez taking advantage of some sloppy Leverkusen defending to score in the 90th minute.

"Things looked bleak," Alvarez said after the match, adding "but by playing our game and staying humble, we got the equalizer.

"Then with 10 against 10, we saw the chance to win."

The last-gasp victory sends Atletico third in the Champions League table, with the top eight sides all avoiding an extra knockout round.

The win means Atletico has already secured last 16 qualification and travels to Red Bull Salzburg in its final match.

"These are three very important points and they show us to keep believing in what we do," Alvarez said.

German champion Leverkusen, who hosts lowly Sparta Prague next week, finishes the night in sixth.

"We didn't close out the game maturely enough," Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah lamented to DAZN, saying Atletico lured his side into a "fight".

"The stadium pushed them and lifted them high... To lose a difficult away game like that, it hurts extremely badly."

Win 'no coincidence'

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his side's intelligence in Tuesday's come-from-behind home win.

"It's no coincidence that what happened in the second half happened. We played intelligently, we didn't let the game get away from us."

Simeone said Leverkusen "played very well but didn't have any scoring opportunities — we were able to convert the ones we had."

The coach saved special praise for Alvarez, who arrived from Manchester City in the summer.

"When we first thought about bringing Julian in, we were excited. He has an impressive record.

"Over the years he will have a special place in the club."

The 54-year-old said Atletico had its sights set on a return to the Champions League final.

"Every team in this competition wants to reach the final."

Red-hot form

Both sides came into the match in red-hot form. Leverkusen had chalked up 12 straight victories in all competitions while Atletico had 15 wins in a row before Saturday's surprise La Liga loss at lowly Leganes.

Before the match, both coaches lavished praise on each other.

Atletico's Simeone, who coached his side against Alonso when the Leverkusen boss was playing at Real and Bayern, lauded his opposite number for turning the side into an "extraordinary team".

Alonso, who missed Real's 2014 Champions League final win over Atletico with suspension, praised Simeone's "intense and perfect relationship" with his club.

On the pitch however there was no love lost, with the referee handing out four yellow cards and a red in the first half.

Leverkusen was in control before referee Davide Massa changed Barrios' yellow to red after a VAR intervention with 23 minutes gone.

The man advantage supercharged the Germans, who pinned Atletico inside its own area.

Leverkusen broke through in first-half stoppage time, Nordi Mukiele lofting a cross for Hincapie to head past Atletico goalie Jan Oblak.

In the second-half, the early control evaporated as both sides played end-to-end, with Atletico using the chaos to equalize.

With Leverkusen on the attack, Antoine Griezmann punted a long pass goalward, Alvarez forced Tah into a poor clearance, before regathering and guiding a shot into the bottom right.

Leverkusen lost goalscorer Hincapie to a second yellow in the final 15 minutes, prompting Atletico to push higher.

With the visiting side failing to deal with a bouncing cross, Alvarez collected the ball and rounded the keeper before converting from a tight angle to snatch a famous comeback victory for the undermanned host.

AFP