Atlético stumbles on the same stone

• Group B Results and classification

The BayArena gorge knows no truces.

It roars, thunders and, at times, intimidates.

It's a constant buzz that sinks in, like the rain that saw fit to fall on Leverkusen.

knows so well

, ended up catching Atlético at the last minute.

Two lashes broke his knees at the last minute, having previously escaped the German fangs unharmed.

They were shipwrecked again in that stadium where it is so hard to smile.

He surely wasn't the best possible Bayer, but he didn't need it either to leave a good scar on his opponent's side.

Just before starting the route to the locker room to take a break,

stayed in a section with referee

.

He kept thinking about that surprising play that could have changed the script of the night.

The outcome, a priori, seemed simple.

A shipment to the area by

ended up hitting the arm of central

, before the incredulous look of

, who was unable, perhaps because of the shock, to pocket a ball that seemed impossible to send into the stands.

He wasn't.

It also seemed the same or more difficult not to signal a penalty.

However, after a few seconds of mystery, from the VAR, without the referee even going to review the play live, they considered that nothing had happened.

Therefore, Mario wanted to clarify the matter.

He surely went to the dressing room with the same conviction that he had up to that moment.

None.

a dangerous habit

This Bayer, it must be said, has nothing to do with that crazy set of red bullets that

handled on Simeone's first visit to the BayArena, back in 2015. That night Atlético came out of the tie alive (1-0) because heaven wanted it that way.

It couldn't be explained any other way.

This Bayer seemed to be less fierce, but ended up gobbling up his rival on the counterattack.

And that came with a single victory in his eight official games.

hit the central defenders without much success during the first act and

undressed Molina in the lane.

Neither was Bayer much more until the break.

And it is not that Atlético overwhelmed, far from it, but they were relaxed and unhurried under the fine rain that the German sky gave.

It was

who grabbed the needle firmly again and again to baste the course of his team.

Of course, as long as he did not end up on the ground, something that has already become a dangerous habit.

Surprisingly, the two best red and white occasions in that first act had Hermoso and

as protagonists.

The night seemed calm...

And it was, at least for

, again under the sticks due to

's ailments , until

, who was playing his first minutes of the season, made his first imprudence behind.

The slip led to a ball to the crossbar by Schick and another to the post, in the continuation, by

.

Atlético had swallowed saliva for the first time.

Errors in the Champions League are usually more expensive than in any other tournament.

Simeone knows it well.

This one, at least, had no consequences.

Felipe, it must be said, would end up fine-tuning his instincts and would save his goal when darkness closed in on his team.

Grbic, by the way, did not weigh too much on the stage.

increasingly blushing

It remains to be seen if the tactic with

to make his transfer cheaper, you know, the one in the 60th minute (and something), will have an effect.

What is a fact is that the scene is increasingly blushing for everyone.

That French football, and not just his goals, is needed by Atlético to live on the pitch in another way.

More in Europe than anywhere else.

Antoine had to write from that line his 300th match with Simeone.

Obviously, half an hour is not always going to be enough.

Talent also needs your time.

It was not in Leverkusen.

Because at the last minute, when the sunset loomed goalless, despite the increasingly intense flashes of Bayer,

's right hand appeared to outwit Grbic.

He burst in like lightning

to crumble the rojiblanco castle.

Accidents, if this was one, often leave their mark on Europe.

At least, Atlético is already warned and still has time for redemption.

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