MADRID, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) - In a riveting Champions League clash on Wednesday night, Atletico Madrid secured a 3-2 victory at home against Feyenoord.
The hosts twice had to rally from behind before emerging victorious. Alvaro Morata was the star of the show with two goals, while Antoine Griezmann also found the net in this key match-up.
Feyenoord opened the scoreline in the seventh minute, courtesy of a misfortunate event where Mario Hermoso saw keeper Jan Oblak save a shot, only for the ball to ricochet off him into the Atletico net.
Morata quickly responded for Atletico, capitalizing on a loose ball in the Feyenoord area, though the VAR was needed to dismiss an offside position against Saul.
The Dutch side created opportunities to regain the lead before David Hancko succeeded in the 34th minute, striking home a rebound from a free kick after Oblak thwarted his original effort.
Griezmann brought parity again deep into first half injury time after the visitors failed to clear a corner. Morata netted what turned out to be the winning goal two minutes into the second half with an instinctive finish from Nahuel Molina's right-wing cross.
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona eked out a 1-0 win away to Porto, thanks to substitute Ferran Torres. Replacing the injured Robert Lewandowski in the 34th minute, Torres found the back of the net in first half injury time after Ilkay Gundogan exploited a poor back-pass to set him up with a smart inside pass.
Porto had been a thorn in the side of Barca, especially down the left, and this narrative continued after the break with Marc-Andre ter Stegen being summoned for a series of important saves.
Porto's hopes soared in the 77th minute when they thought they had a penalty after Joao Cancelo appeared to have committed a clear handball. However, the VAR overturned the referee's decision upon spotting a prior infringement.
Gavi received his marching orders in injury time following a second yellow card, but Porto didn't have time to capitalize on the extra man advantage. ■
