Champions League — Atletico Madrid beats Inter 2-1; Sporting beat Club Brugge with a 3-0 victory

Jose Maria Gimenez rose highest to lead home a dramatic winner in extra time, helping Atletico Madrid secure a thrilling 2-1 win over Inter Milan in a thrilling Champions League match at the Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.

With the match tied at 1-1 after Piotr Zielinski had equalized for the visiting side, Gimenez leapt above Inter’s defenders after Julian Alvarez’s early goal in the 93rd minute and nodded Antoine Griezmann’s precise corner into the net, delighting the home crowd on a chilly evening in the Spanish capital.

“I struck with the same intensity of love that I have for my children,” an emotional Gimenez told Movistar Plus.

“It was a goal for all my loved ones and for the people who always believed in me. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.

«Our motto is one game at a time. Today was a tough game that we had to win, and by winning this we can believe that we can qualify straight away.»

Despite the loss, Inter remain fourth in the group with 12 points, the same as Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, but three behind leaders Arsenal.

Atlético’s victory lifts the country to twelfth place with nine points, keeping their slim hopes of finishing in the knockout stages alive.

Sporty back in the top eight

Sporting Lisbon catapulted into the top eight of the Champions League standings on Wednesday by beating Belgian Club Brugge 3-0.

Goals for Geovany Quenda, Luis Suarez and Francisco Trincao secured a comfortable win for the Portuguese champions at Estadio Jose Alvalade. The result moved the Portuguese champions to eighth from fourteenth in the standings, with ten points from five games.

Sporting survived an early scare when skipper Morten Hjulmand was shown a red card by referee Tobias Stieler for a high boot, but after a VAR it was downgraded to a warning.

That proved Sporting’s only concern on a dominant evening as it opened the scoring in the 24th minute through 18-year-old Quenda, who improvised with a quick turn and finish after Geny Catamo’s shot on the right flank was parried by Nordin Jackers in the Brugge goal.

Seven minutes later, Catamo’s pass through the middle set Colombian striker Suarez free, although he still needed an expert chip on the onrushing Jackers.

Suarez was again on target three minutes into the second half in an almost identical situation, but tried to dribble past the goalkeeper and ended his effort against the upright.

However, a third goal was scored twenty minutes before the end when Trincao curled in a left-footed shot from the penalty area.

Published on November 27, 2025