Bayern Munich beat Atlético Madrid 2-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Tuesday night. Two goals in the second half moved them into the top eight of the Champions League league phase and left the hosts in the play-off places.
Two goals decide it
The match was goalless until the 54th minute, when Lennart Karl put Bayern ahead. Two minutes later Joshua Kimmich was booked, the first caution of the night.
Bayern made sure of the win in the 74th minute. Konrad Laimer scored, with Harry Kane credited with the assist. Atlético did not find a way back.
The only other bookings were Giuliano Simeone for Atlético in the 79th minute and Josip Stanisic for Bayern in the first minute of stoppage time at the end.
What the numbers say
No team statistics were available for this match, but the season averages show the gap between the sides. After four games Bayern are averaging three goals a game. Atlético are averaging one.
Both teams concede 1.25 goals per game, so the difference is at the other end. Bayern have kept two clean sheets this season, including this one. Atlético have kept one.
Bayern's points per game now stands at two, against one for Atlético. Bayern's other results this season were a 5-0 win over Bodø/Glimt, a 3-3 draw at Viking and a 2-2 draw with Arsenal. Atlético had lost 2-1 at Liverpool, beaten Manchester United 2-0 and drawn 1-1 at Stuttgart.
Bayern have the better recent record against these opponents, too. They won 4-0 in October 2020 and the sides drew 1-1 in December 2020, the two meetings in the head-to-head record.
What it means in the table
Bayern are seventh with eight points from four games, from two wins and two draws. Their goal difference is +7. That puts them inside the top eight, who go straight through to the last 16, and one point behind leaders PSG, who have nine points from three games.
Atlético are 19th with four points from four games and a goal difference of -1. They have won one game. That leaves them in the group of teams from ninth to 24th who would go into the knockout play-offs.
MFF's match model had predicted a 2-1 home win, with Atlético given a 41% chance of winning, a 22% chance of a draw and Bayern 37%. It got this one wrong.
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