ANTOINE GRIEZMANN SCORED in either half to help Atletico Madrid to a 3-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge at the Wanda Metropolitano tonight.
After an opening win against Monaco two weeks ago, Griezmann’s double — and Koke’s late strike — has given Diego Simeone’s side a perfect platform to progress from Group A.
The World Cup winner put his side ahead with a typically assured strike before Arnaut Groeneveld gave the Belgian champions an unlikely leveller with a stunning effort.
Griezmann then proved exactly why he is Atletico’s talisman in the 67th minute, producing another clinical finish to set Los Rojiblancos on their way to three more points, which were sealed by Koke.
Elsewhere in Group A, Borussia Dortmund’s outstanding form continued with a 3-0 win over Monaco, as Paco Alcacer spared his personal blushes by recovering from a penalty miss to score his first Champions League goal for the club.
Jacob Bruun Larsen came on as a half-time substitute to score his third goal in as many appearances for Dortmund, who did not have it all their own way against a Monaco side fighting to regain form after a torrid few weeks. Leonardo Jardim’s men are without a win in nine games and have nothing to show for their European efforts so far, having lost to Atletico Madrid in their opening Group A fixture.
In contrast, Dortmund are top of the Bundesliga and growing in confidence in Europe, their victory effectively clinched by Paco Alcacer’s strike after the Spaniard missed a penalty moments earlier, and Marco Reus added a third in second-half stoppage time.
Inter kept pace with Barcelona at the top of Group B after coming from behind to secure a 2-1 away win over PSV. Radja Nainggolan’s first European goal for his new club and a cool Mauro Icardi finish on the hour gave the Nerazurri their second comeback victory of the campaign, having dramatically beaten Tottenham 2-1 a fortnight ago.
No late fireworks were required on this occasion, although Inter were still made to work for their fifth straight victory in all competitions after falling behind to a Pablo Rosario stunner.
Nainggolan restored parity on the stroke of half-time before Icardi, one of the heroes of the Spurs success, took Luciano Spalletti’s side level on points with leaders Barca after two encouraging outings.
Porto got up and running in the Champions League as Moussa Marega’s header earned a 1-0 win over Galatasaray in Group D, with Iker Casillas starring at the other end.
Marega, filling in for the injured Vincent Aboubakar up top, netted 22 goals in Primeira Liga last term, but doubled his tally for this season when he took advantage of abysmal marking to head home a corner from former Galatasaray man Alex Telles.
Things would have been different if not for Casillas, however, with Porto’s goalkeeper pulling off two superb saves towards the end of the first half.
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