Diego Simeone described Club Brugge as Atletico Madrid’s “most intense opponent” after the 3-3 draw in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs.
Simeone watched as his team trailed by two goals at half-time thanks to Julian Alvarez’s eighth-minute penalty and Ademola Lookman’s stoppage time penalty.
However, Brugge hit back twice in nine minutes after the break through Raphael Onyedika and Nicolo Tresoldi, but more drama followed.
Joel Ordonez’s own goal in the 79th minute put Atletico back in front, but in the final minute of the 90, Christos Tzolis finished past Jan Oblak to get a share of the spoils.
It was the first time that Brugge had fallen behind by more than two goals halfway through a match to avoid defeat in the two competitions (16th time, lost the first 15).
When asked to explain the draw, Simeone told Movistar: “[It was] the match we imagined, the most intense opponent in the Champions League.
“A lot of young players working very well, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We had a fairly controlled first half, in which we could have scored two more goals.”
“In the second half they came into the game, it wasn’t the same anymore, we didn’t attack like before.
“But it was 2-2, then we went 2-3 up and that last goal turned out to be a misinterpretation of the way we defended, and they took the opportunity.”
2 – @athletienglish have failed to win for the first time in their history after an evenly matched victory by a two-goal margin @ChampionsLeague. Wrong. pic.twitter.com/RWsvnDpkNQ
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 18, 2026
Atletico are now winless in their last five away games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (D1 L4); their joint longest streak in the competition (previously five between February 2015 and May 2016).
But they had their chances to win the match, with an expected goals total (xG) of 2.36 from their 13 shots, slightly higher than Brugge’s 2.22 from 17 attempts.
And it was their first 45 minutes that proved to be their downfall. The result saw Atletico fail to win a European Cup/Champions League match despite leading by more than two goals at half-time (23rd time, won the first 22).
“The game lasts 90 minutes, not 45. Everything goes hand in hand with what is happening,” Simeone said. “We responded well to their two goals.
“The team fought very well against an opponent that is not easy here. We knew that.”
“If it ends in the first half, and we see it that way, yes,” Simeone added on whether he thought Atletico deserved a win.
“If we look at the context, the draw is fair. We both had situations, we took advantage of them. The second leg on home field and we hope for a great match.”
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