SPANISH champions Atletico Madrid assumed control of Group A after establishing a three-point lead at the summit following their 2-0 victory over Swedish outfit Malmo at the Swedbank Stadion last night. A strike in each half from Koke and Raul Garcia earned Diego Simeone’s Primera Division side their third successive Champions League success to move clear of Juventus and Olympiakos. The Italian champions and their Greek counterparts are both locked on six points with two rounds of fixtures to play after Juventus staged a second-half comeback to edge an entertaining clash in Turin. An opener from Italy’s veteran play-maker Andrea Pirlo’s was cancelled out by headed goals from Alberto Botia and Delvin Ndinga before an own from Roberto and a Paul Pogba strike sealed maximum points for Massimiliano Allegri’s charges. Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen are on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages after a second-half double from South Korea’s Son Heung-min rendered Jose Salomon Rondon’s late strike a mere consolation in Group C. Leverkusen have amssed three wins, while Monaco are still their closest rivals on five points despite losing to Benfica courtesy of Brazilian Talisca’s valuable late effort as the Portuguese side look to avoid group-stage elimination for the third consecutive campaign.
Reported by City A.M. 55 minutes ago.
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