MILAN (AP) — A hat trick by Alexander Sorloth helped Atletico Madrid finally shake off Club Brugge and advance to the Champions League round of 16.
The Spanish giant won 4-1 on Tuesday to complete a 7-4 aggregate victory. But the wide margin on the night didn’t tell the full story of Brugge’s resilience over two legs.
A 3-3 draw in Belgium last week had seen Brugge come back from two goals down and then level again in the 89th minute.
In the second leg in Madrid it fought back once more after Sorloth fired Atletico in front in the 23rd. Joel Ordonez leveled 13 minutes later.
Diego Simeone’s team went 2-1 ahead through Johnny Cardoso early in the second half and Brugge’s resolve was finally broken.
Sorloth completed his hat trick with goals in the 76th and 87th to secure Atletico’s place in the next round.
Inter Milan must overturn a two-goal deficit against Bodø/Glimt if it is to avoid becoming the latest giant to be cut down by the tiny Norwegian team.
Bodø/Glimt leads 3-1 after the first leg and has its sights on the round of 16.
Inter — the beaten finalist in two of the last three seasons — plays the second leg at home but is in danger of suffering one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.
“We should have done better, and there’s a lot of disappointment,” Inter coach Cristian Chivu said. “But we’ve reset and I’m now interested in our approach and our confidence, being the best version of ourselves and knowing we can turn it around.”
Bodø/Glimt’s victory last week in Norway saw it follow up back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at the end of the league phase.
“We feel we can compete with most teams but at the same time we have nothing to lose,” Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg said.
Newcastle was cruising into the next round after a 6-1 win in Qarabag, while Bayer Leverkusen is in control against Olympiakos following a 2-0 win in the first leg.
___
