Kolkata: With a quick glance, Julian Alvarez pivoted and surged forward as Antoine Griezmann prepared to deliver the pass. In front of Griezmann, Jonathan Tah found himself a step behind. Attempting to make up for his slower pace, Tah tried to scoop the ball away but failed. As Tah lost his footing, Alvarez remained resolute—demonstrating his strength once again that evening—covered the ground effectively, and resisted Alejandro Grimaldo’s challenge to net the equaliser for Atletico Madrid in the 52nd minute.

Diego Simeone raised his arms in a calming gesture. The Atletico manager is well-acquainted with such scenarios. “What transpired in the second half was not by chance,” he remarked to Movistar following the match. “We maintained control of the game.”

Alvarez’s goal marked Atletico’s first shot on target, while his second goal, rounding Matej Kovar in the 90th minute, represented their second. This led to a classic Atletico Madrid heist, securing victory with only 30% possession. It was typical of the team, as they required another late goal in a season where they have netted 14 winners in the dying moments. It was also characteristic that the assist for the second goal came from Angel Correa, who has proven to be a significant substitute with crucial stoppage-time goals against Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain (PSG), and Athletic Bilbao.

The 2-1 victory encapsulated a thrilling round of matches in the Champions League, marking the first occurrence in January since the European Cup's previous format in 1968. It was a night where Barcelona managed to overcome Wojciech Szczesny’s blunders and Vangelis Pavlidis’s first-half hat trick, evoking memories of their remarkable comeback against PSG in 2017 with a 5-4 victory over Benfica. It was also a night marked by four expulsions across the matches.

Two of those red cards were issued in Madrid. The hosts have mounted a serious challenge for La Liga, despite their 15-match winning streak across all competitions coming to an end over the weekend. However, on Tuesday, Atletico faced a team that had lost only once the previous season and was riding a 12-game winning streak this time, which included victories over Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

It appeared that the streak would extend to 13 when Piero Hincapie headed the ball past Jan Oblak during first-half stoppage time.

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