La Liga giants Atletico Madrid have been eliminated from European competition after suffering a painful defeat against Portuguese club Porto.
Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi and Canadian midfielder Stephen Estaquio scored the goals for the hosts. Porto captain Ivan Marcano unfortunately scored an own goal.
Atlético de Madrid came into the game with a 2-1 defeat against Cádiz. They were already eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and still needed a positive result against Porto to qualify for the Europa League.
Diego Simeone’s men started the game with a 3-4-3. Jan Oblack started under goal. Stefan Savic, Jose Maria Gimenez and Reinaldo completed the back three. Nahuel Molina and Saul Niguez started as full-backs, while Axel Witsel and Rodrigo de Paul played at the base of midfield. Joao Félix, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa were the forwards.
Two goals in the first half for Porto
The local team, Porto, had a great start to the game. He took the lead in the fifth minute through his Iranian striker Mahdi Taremi. Pep found Evanilson in the box. The Brazilian then sent in an earlier cross that was finished off by Taremi.
The Portuguese club then had a golden opportunity to double their lead. However, Taremi’s effort was well saved by Atlético captain Jan Oblack. The hosts kept up their enormous pressure on Atlético and soon scored the second goal.
After a lot of preparation, Porto winger Galeno made it to the penalty area. The Brazilian then sent a cut into the dangerous area where Estquio came in with a late run and fired past Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Oblack to double his lead.
After conceding two goals in a short time, Atlético was taken aback. The Spanish team failed to create anything in the first half and returned to the locker room losing 2-0. The second half started the same way and Porto put on a good attacking display.
However, in the 68th minute of the game, Atletico striker Griezmann found the back of the net against the development of the play. The goal was later disallowed for a foul in the setup. From this point on, it was an even battle as Atletico Madrid finally started to create some chances.
Atlético de Madrid closed the gap in injury time of the match. Porto captain Marcano deflected a corner from Carrasco. The deflection fooled Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa and found the back of the net. Porto then managed to hold on for the last few minutes and finished the match with a 2-1 win.
Atlético de Madrid Outside Europe
With this defeat, Atlético de Madrid is eliminated from European competition. They finished in fourth position with five points from six games.
For its part, Porto qualified for the round of 16 as the winner of group B. They accumulated twelve points in six games with four wins and remained undefeated in the competition.
