Chelsea 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Perhaps from the moment the Atletico coach got stuck in traffic en route to Stamford Bridge, it should have been apparent this may not be their night.
The betting odds were already stacked against them qualifying and arriving at the ground just 45 minutes before kick-off was far from ideal.
Yet, Diego Simeone’s hopefuls weren’t going to be deterred.
As lovers of live betting players kept an eye on football games being played out simultaneously in West London and Rome, so the tension increased.
Not for Chelsea of course, facing former frontman Fernando Torres in the attack.
Their place in the last 16 was already secure but for Atletico, even club president Enrique Cerezo admitted pre-match they needed a miracle —a combination of Los Rojiblancos winning and little known Qarabag taking something from Italians Roma on their turf.
When the match started, it was almost as intriguing to watch Simeone and his counterpart Antonio Conte on the touchline.
Often emotional, almost always animated, especially as chances arrived end-to-end.
Most of them fell to the hosts, but then Filipe Luis hit the woodwork against his former club before Torres flicked on a corner and Saul Niguez applied the decisive touch.
It coincided with a home goal in Rome, so the chances of Atletico progressing remained slim, even before an own goal equaliser.
In the end, it wasn’t to be and Jan Oblak’s heroics actually prevented a defeat.
This failure will cost the club in the region of €25 million if reports are to be believed.
Yet if they are at their best, they should be overwhelming favourites to win the Europa League and a third title in that competition in less than a decade.
All is not lost!
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