Atlético Madrid Vs Club Brugge — Sorloth hat-trick seals last-16 spot in 4-1 win
Atlético Madrid Vs Club Brugge finished 4-1 on the night and 7-4 on aggregate as Alexander Sorloth scored his first Champions League hat-trick to send Diego Simeone's side into the last 16, where they will face either Liverpool or Tottenham.
Atlético Madrid Vs Club Brugge — Sorloth strikes three times
Alexander Sorloth opened the scoring in the 23rd minute at the Wanda Metropolitano after collecting a long ball from goalkeeper Jan Oblak and drilling a half-volley past Simon Mignolet. Sorloth's treble was completed with two confident finishes inside the final 14 minutes, and the Norway striker has now scored five goals in this season's Champions League.
Sorloth started in place of Antoine Griezmann and had already been in form, having netted twice against Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday. His hat-trick ended Atlético's three-game winless run in the Champions League.
How the game swung: Ordonez equalises, Cardoso puts Atleti ahead
Club Brugge levelled 13 minutes after Sorloth's opener when Joel Ordonez headed home a corner, with Brandon Mechele flicking the ball on at the near post for Ordonez to head home. Ordonez had scored an own goal in the first leg when the two sides drew 3-3 in Belgium.
Three minutes into the second half, United States international Johnny Cardoso put Atlético back in front. The strike has been described in different ways in coverage: a thrashed low strike, a rasping half-volley from outside the box and a drilled finish from about 20 yards. It was Cardoso's first goal for the club and made the tie 5-4 on aggregate.
Oblak wrong-footed but makes a stunning save
Jan Oblak played a decisive dual role: he played the long ball that led to Sorloth's opener and later produced a remarkable save. Hugo Vetlesen thought he had put Brugge ahead less than two minutes after Ordonez's equaliser when he connected with a Christos Tzolis cross, only to be denied by a stellar save from Oblak. Separate coverage described Oblak as wrong-footed but somehow still managing an amazing stop to deny Club Brugge.
What this means for the last 16 and the wider draw
Atlético's win sets up a last-16 tie with either Liverpool or Tottenham. Tottenham's reporting of the wider picture notes that the club will meet either Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray or Juventus in the round of 16; Galatasaray and Juventus meet in their second leg at Juventus's Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening with Galatasaray 5-2 up from the first leg in Istanbul. The winners of that tie will enter Friday's draw in Switzerland (11am UK).
Level at 3-3 after the first leg in Belgium, Atlético produced a faster start on home soil after a sluggish end to the first leg in which they had thrown away a two-goal lead. Sorloth's late double added gloss to the La Liga side's performance and secured progression.
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The immediate confirmed scheduling note is the second leg between Galatasaray and Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening, with the winners entering the Friday draw in Switzerland at 11am UK.
