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Thank you very much for following this Live Score Commentary here on VAVEL UK with me, Boris Gradecak.
The trip to Madrid next month will therefore not be an easy one for Roger Schmidt's men. However, we never saw Leverkusen giving up today. Can they turn around this game in Madrid?
FT: Atlético Madrid seals a deserved win over over hosts Bayer Leverkusen. Although Leverkusen started a come-back twice, it was not enough to stop Atlético from scoring. Die Werkself showed an impressive performance as they had their opportunities to score a few more goals. Thus, Atlético Madrid had the better end tonight which gives them a comfortable 4-2 lead for the second leg in the Vicente Calderon coming March.
90+4: FULL-TIME!
89: Filipe Luis also collects a booking tonight.
89: Gabi received a booking which suspends him for the second leg in Madrid.
87: Torres also picked up a yellow card after a foul.
86: Fernando Torres heads in a cross from Vrsaljko.
86: GOAL! FERNANDO TORRES KNOCKS OUT LEVERKUSEN! 2-4!
81: CHICHARITO! What a chance! His shot was cleared on the goal line by Filipe Luis! Leverkusen are very close to scoring their third one tonight, Atletico losing the concentration now.
80: Ten minutes left for Leverkusen. Can they score a third time?
77: Torres and Correa come on for Griezmann and Carrasco.
74: Thomas comes on for Gameiro.
74: Aranguiz gets a booking for a very bad tackle on Gabi.
71: Can the hosts come back and draw versus Atletico? What a great game of football where, at this stage, anything is possible!
68: Pohjanpalo gets to cross the ball in from the left. Moya's attempt to save the ball went missing and hit Savic, who could not do anything about the ball rolling into his own goal as it had bounced off him.
68: GOAL! LEVERKUSEN COMES BACK! SAVIC WITH AN UNLUCKY OWN-GOAL! 2-3
66: Bellarabi comes off for Pohjanpalo.
64: Wendell gets a booking for a reckless challenge. His second in this Champions League season!
58: Dragovic brought down Gameiro just at the line of the area by holding the Frenchman. The fouled took the ball himself and struck the clear penalty easily!
58: GOAL! GAMEIRO MAKES IT 1-3!
57: PENALTY TO ATLETICO!
56: Volland comes on for Havertz.
51' Huge chance for Atletico to make it 1-3 as Gameiro received the ball inside the area. The Frenchmans' effort hit the crossbar though! Luck for Leverkusen!
48: Kampl serves Henrichs on the outside, who found Bellarabi in the centre. The 26-year-old took a shot and could get it past Moya to make it 1-2!
48: GOAL! BELLARABI MAKES IT 1-2! WHAT A START FOR LEVERKUSEN!
46: The second half is underway! No changes were made.
HT: The first half saw Atlético dominating the hosts in which Saul Niguez and Antione Griezmann could give the Madrileños a well-deserved 2-0 lead. Leverkusen has had a few good efforts, especially Kampls' attempts made Moya make spectacular saves. The second half will be a very hard task for Die Werkself. Can they come back in the second half?
45: HALF-TIME! 0-2
44: Gabi hits Chicharito with his elbow in a man-to-man challenge inside the area, which was missed by the officials! This looked like a clear penalty!
41: Bellarabi fouls Griezmann in the middle, Referee Collum played the whistle as there was no advantage to give.
34: Another huge chance for the visitors! Gameiro serves Griezmann form the right again, whose shot was saved by Leno. The following corner was nothing special, though!
30: Kampl tries it from the distance! Moyas spectacular save ended up in a corner, which found Kampl again, whose volley just missed the target.
25: Dragovics' attempt to clear the ball went completely wrong, which luckily reached Gameiro, who was then running in a man-to-man with Toprak towards Leverkusen Keeper Leno. The 29-year-old then stopped and passed to Griezmann, who then simply tapped in Gameiro's lay-off!
25: GOAL! GRIEZMANN DOUBLES THE LEAD FOR THE VISITORS! 0-2
24: Around 1.000 Atlético-Supporters made their way to Germany today!
21: Kampl tried to take a shot from the edge of the box, his blocked effort found Chicharito, but the Mexicans' attempt was saved by Atletico Keeper Moya.
17: What a beautiful strike! Saul Niguez received the ball in the midfield and made his run all the way to the right edge of the box. The 22-year-old then curled the ball past Leno into the top corner in a spectacular way! Welcome to the Champions League!
17: GOAL - SAUL NIGUEZ GIVES ATLETICO THE LEAD! 0-1
16: Henrichs gets booked for a foul. This means he will be missing the second leg away in Madrid next month.
12: Carrasco crosses the ball from the left again, Wendell tried to clear it as his shot surprisingly hit his own crossbar. Luck for the Germans there!
12: Atlético keeps their pressure up! Carrasco sends Griezmann along the left side, though the Frenchman's effort was saved by Leno.
9: First opportunity for Atlético. Griezmann sends Carrasco, whose cross was superbly cleared by Toprak. The following corner did not trouble Leverkusen keeper Leno.
6: Bellarabi fouls Filipe Luis at the half way line, Referee Collum gives the free-kick for the visitors.
3: A calm start of both teams. Some passing along their rows, no dangerous attempts yet.
1: KICK-OFF! The game is underway!
Both Teams and Officials are now entering the pitch!
Ten minutes to go! The BayArena is ready for this very promising clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético Madrid.
We've also found some nice stats here! Leverkusen have not lost their last ten home matches in UEFA competitions (5 victories, 5 draws) - Atletico lost their last three away games in Germany.
Diego Simeone respects his opponent and warned: "It will be a very difficult game, the pressure is high." So, what can we expect today? A very passive or rather attacking Atletico? An away goal will surely be one of the main targets for the visitors.
Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt made two changes from their last match versus Augsburg: For Bender and Jedvaj he brought Aranguiz and Toprak.
Bayer Leverkusen's bench: Özcan, Jedvaj, Baumgartlinger, Bailey, Mehmedi, Pohjanpalo, Volland.
Bayer Leverkusen starting XI: Leno; Henrichs, Toprak, Dragovic, Wendell; Aranguiz, Kampl; Bellarabi, Brandt; Havertz, Chicharito.
Atletico Madrid's bench: Oblak, Lucas, Gaitan, Thomas, Correa, Fernando Torres, Henrique.
Atlético Madrid starting XI: Moya; Vrsaljko, Savic, Gimenez, Filipe Luis; Gabi, Koke; Saul Niguez, Ferreira-Carrasco; Griezmann, Gameiro.
A bit more than an hour to go! We're waiting for the official team news, which will be presented to you soonest!
With all that in mind, join us again before kick-off for some more team-updates, official line-ups and more build-up live from the BayArena as we prepare for what should be an interesting last 16 tie.
Atlético Madrid predicted XI: (4-4-2) Moya; Vrsaljko, Savic, Gimenez, Filipe Luis; Gabi, Koke; Saul Niguez, Ferreira-Carrasco; Griezmann, Gameiro.
Bayer Leverkusen predicted XI: (4-4-2) Leno; Henrichs, Toprak, Dragovic, Wendell; L. Bender, Kampl; Bellarabi, Brandt; Havertz, Chicharito.
Good news for Diego Simeone. Jan Oblak has been given all clear for the match in Leverkusen. However, the head coach will have to do without Augusto, Tiago, Diego Godín, Juanfran and Alessio Cerci.
Roger Schmidt will have to pass on Jonathan Tah, who is absent for die Werkself. Lars Bender had to miss the final training session, though he's expected to be fit for the match. Furthermore, free-kick specialist Hakan Calhanoglu remains banned and will therefore not help out the Germans during tonights clash.
Atlético Madrid are placed fourth in La Liga at the moment, seven points behind top of the league and city rivals, Real Madrid. The team of head coach Diego Simeone has not lost in eight consecutive league games, having recently beaten Gijon 4-1 away after a 3-2 success at home over Celta de Vigo. Atleti's form is not the worst and definitely a hard task for the German hosts.
Leverkusen are currently eighth in the Bundesliga, having recently won twice in a row. Roger Schmidt's side's 3-0 home victory over fifth place Eintracht Frankfurt was followed by an impressive 3-1 away at FC Augsburg. Leverkusen's main man will definitely be striker, Javier Hernández. The Mexican has scored four goals in those last two games. Can he find the back of the net today?
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL UK's live coverage of Bayer Leverkusen's last 16 first leg tie against Atlético Madrid. The Germans want to make up their defeat against the Spanish side as Atlético beat Leverkusen at the same stage in the Champions League back in 2015. Can they cause a surprise? Follow us live from the BayArena, but until then, we'll have plenty of pre-match build up and analysis from me, Boris Gradecak. Stay tuned!