Atletico Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a surprisingly helter-skelter Champions League last-16 first leg at the BayArena. Diego Simeone's side are now big favourites to progress despite surprising defensive issues that kept Roger Schmidt's outfit in the tie for longer than they deserved.
Atletico looked in complete control after first-half goals from Saul Niguez and Antoine Griezmann. The second half then brought further drama, with Karim Bellarabi quickly making it 2-1, Kevin Gameiro winning and scoring a penalty, and a mistake from visiting goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya leading to a Stefan Savic own goal.
Bayer striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez saw a shot cleared off the line by Filipe Luis as the Bundesliga side sensed a famous comeback. But substitute Fernando Torres' late header means that the La Liga outfit should really progress from the return game at the Calderon on March 15.

Source: QNA