Atletico Madrid’s push for a Champions League top-eight finish suffered a setback after they were held to a 1–1 draw by Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday night, leaving their route to automatic qualification for the last 16 increasingly uncertain.
The visitors made a dream start when Giuliano Simeone struck in the fourth minute, giving Diego Simeone’s side early control and briefly lifting them into the provisional top eight. However, Atletico were unable to build on the advantage and were pegged back midway through the first half by an unfortunate Marcos Llorente own goal, restoring parity for the hosts.
Galatasaray levelled after 20 minutes when Llorente diverted Roland Sallai’s cross into his own net while attempting to intercept, denying Jan Oblak a clean sheet on his 100th Champions League appearance. The Turkish side almost went ahead before the break, but Baris Yilmaz wasted a clear opportunity, firing over the bar when well placed.
Atletico pressed after the restart and came close to regaining the lead just before the hour mark, only for Abdulkerim Bardakci to clear David Hancko’s goal-bound effort off the line. Diego Simeone later introduced Antoine Griezmann in place of Alexander Sorloth, while keeping Julian Alvarez on the pitch despite the forward’s recent struggles in front of goal. Alvarez, who has scored once in his last 10 matches, delivered a more energetic display than in recent outings.
Late chances fell Atletico’s way, with Griezmann forcing a sharp save from goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir from a free-kick, before the Galatasaray shot-stopper denied Alex Baena to preserve the draw. The hosts nearly snatched victory at the death, but Llorente redeemed himself with a crucial last-ditch interception to stop Eren Elmali from pulling the trigger.
The result leaves Galatasaray facing a tough final fixture away to Manchester City, where they will look to secure a place in the play-off round. Atletico, meanwhile, host Bodo/Glimt in their final league-phase match, still with a chance of breaking into the top eight but now with little margin for error.
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