Atlético Madrid Vs Club Brugge [4–1] – Champions League 2025/2026: Exploiting The Right Flank – Tactical Analysis

Atlético Madrid faced Club Brugge in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout phase playoffs, and the Spanish side advanced to the next phase with a 4-1 win.

Even though they suffered in the first leg, conceding three goals to Club Brugge, Atlético Madrid knew how to handle the second leg, scoring enough goals to prevent a potential Club Brugge victory.

That said, Club Brugge had many opportunities to get back in the game following their equaliser but did not exploit Atlético Madrid’s defensive errors well enough to score more than one goal.

In addition, failing to defend effectively against Atlético Madrid’s dangerous, recurring attacking attempts put them in a difficult situation, especially in the second half.

Atlético Madrid succeeded in “saving” their season on a European level, thanks to this qualification, which will allow the team to compete with even more determination in the knockout phase and maybe even reach the advanced stages of the competition.

On the other hand, Club Brugge can only be proud of their overall performance, especially in the first leg, when they troubled Atlético Madrid heavily and prevented them from taking the advantage.

In this tactical analysis article, we will explore Atlético Madrid’s attacking solutions to unlock the game, while considering what Club Brugge lacked in its attacking attempts to fully exploit Atlético Madrid’s defensive mistakes.

Atlético Madrid Vs Club Brugge Lineups & Formations

Diego Simeone alternated between the 4-4-2 and the 5-3-2 formation, with Jan Oblak starting between the sticks.

Rojiblancos’s back four were Marc Pubill and Dávid Hancko as centre-backs, with Marcos Llorente and Matteo Ruggeri as right and left full-backs.

Both Koke and Johnny Cardoso played as central midfielders, while Giuliano Simeone was Atlético Madrid’s right winger, with Alejandro Baena on the left wing.

In the attack, the team relied on Julián Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth as the attacking duo.

Ivan Leko started the match in the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Simon Mignolet in goal, and a defensive line of Joel Ordóñez and Brandon Mechele as the centre-back pairing, with both Joaquin Seys and Kyriani Sabbe as full-backs.

Aleksandar Stanković led the midfield line as a defensive midfielder with Hans Vanaken and Hugo Vetlesen as central midfielder.

At the same time, both Christos Tzolis and Carlos Forbs played on the wings behind the main striker Nicolo Tresoldi.

Atlético Madrid Attacking Solutions & Marking Issues Vs Club Brugge: Inaccurate Threats

Atlético Madrid did not start well against Club Brugge, as the Belgian team had a very positive approach and pressed high in the opponent’s initial build-up.

This allowed Club Brugge to avoid conceding under intense pressure from Atlético Madrid and enabled them to secure a calm start in a difficult away game.

Atlético Madrid Threats From The Right-Wing

Atlético Madrid soon became much more dangerous, mainly thanks to their right-wing actions, which helped them create numerical superiority in those wide areas at the expense of the left side.

Atlético Madrid had more dangerous and dynamic players on the right wing, with all of Simeone, Llorente, who advanced regularly, Cardoso, Koke, and even both strikers, Sørloth and Alvarez, being present on that wing at different moments of the game and moving without the ball in that area.

At the same time, as soon as the ball reached Simeone or Llorente on that wing, Atlético Madrid made sure to attack the penalty area with numbers, knowing that both Sørloth and Alvarez were already very liable to create versus Club Brugge’s defence.

In most cases, it was Sørloth who was relied on as the stationary striker, playing with his back to the goal and setting up his teammates.

Sørloth did just that in this action, and as he attracted a few defenders to him, he freed up some valuable space for Koke to use.

In the meantime, it was impressive to see five players from Atlético Madrid attacking the penalty box, as they knew Koke would certainly opt for a cross.

This numerical superiority was striking, as it favoured Atlético Madrid’s players over Club Brugge’s defenders, who were poorly organised in their individual marking (as seen below) and failed to keep up with the rhythm of the attack.

Luckily for Club Brugge, Simeone was disturbed by the intervention of the goalkeeper and obliged him not to shoot the ball in the way he wanted to deflect it into a corner-kick.

Club Brugge Finishing & First-Touch Weaknesses Inside The Box

Club Brugge could have been much more dangerous against Atlético Madrid if they were more focused on their first touches and finishing inside the final third.

They succeeded in creating several chances during the first half.

They were dangerous, especially from the right wing as well, thanks to Forbs’ ability to beat his direct marker and opt for crosses or key passes towards the box.

The following action highlights the danger Club Brugge created but failed to exploit effectively.

In fact, Club Brugge lacked quality in the box, as its players were either unable to finish accurately or struggled to control the passes they received.

In this action, Vetlesen’s poor first touch was the reason it was not well concluded, while Forbs’ work on the right wing, his ability to easily dribble past his opponent, and his key pass into the box were remarkable.

It is also important to note that Atlético Madrid’s defending in this and many other situations was not as efficient as needed, as Vetlesen was given too much space and could have had the time and space to score if he had controlled the ball better.

Club Brugge Crucial Penetrations From Wide Areas Vs Atlético Madrid Marking Issues

Sørloth confirmed what was mentioned above with his first goal of the match, which was scored mainly thanks to his aerial duels’ abilities and, more importantly, his excellent protection of the ball with his back to the goal.

Using his physical strength to protect the ball, then turn quickly and still be able to shoot with power while blocking his direct opponent, can only prove Sørloth’s valuable attacking work and his excellent value as a stationary striker.

At the same time, the marking of Club Brugge’s defender was poor in this particular action, as the player neither intercepted the ball nor attempted to deflect or block the shot.

It counts for Club Brugge that they did not give up easily and were able to come back in score thanks to a well-executed corner-kick and could have even added the winning goal thanks to another key penetration from the wide areas, which was followed by a cross.

This time, Vetlesen’s header was good enough to oblige the goalkeeper to make a miraculous save, knowing that angling his header a bit more would have made it impossible for the goalkeeper to catch it.

The action also exposes Atlético Madrid’s passive marking in some of the created situations, as this defending approach could have led to conceding numerous goals if Atlético Madrid were playing against a team with more quality upfront.

Ruggeri saw Vetlesen at his back, but did not apply tight marking on him and gave him the time and space needed to execute that header while trying passively to deviate the ball before it reached him.

This type of defending can leave Atlético Madrid vulnerable when facing more powerful teams going forward, even though they got away with their errors in this match and scored four goals that masked their defensive problems.

Atlético Madrid Right-Wing Counterattacking; Alexander Sørloth Clinical Finishing & Positioning

Anticipating second balls and exploiting them were key to adding the second goal, thanks to Cardoso’s excellent attacking positioning and long-range shooting.

Atlético Madrid reconfirmed their first-half right-wing threats later in the game and were able to use that in their favour during a counterattacking situation that saw Llorente provide a key pass to Sørloth.

The latter’s work without the ball, providing a vertical passing option to his teammate, was valuable, as it made the counterattacking action possible thanks to his movement and good ball reception at the back of his direct marker.

Sørloth did not stop and continued playing as a proper striker after passing the ball to the left wing.

This helped him finish the action with a goal, thanks to his good positioning inside the box, exploiting a deflection, and highlighting his goalscoring instinct as well as his intelligent positioning in both the playmaking and finishing processes.

Conclusion

Atlético Madrid knew exactly how to exploit their momentum and score more than one goal to guarantee their qualification, thanks mainly to the effective use of the right wing and to the team’s overall quick attacking transitions that helped create spaces at the back of Club Brugge’s defence.

Furthermore, Sørloth’s finishing, movement without the ball, and ball protection in the final third were crucial to Atlético Madrid achieving their attacking target.

On the other hand, Club Brugge will need to improve their approach to key passes inside the box and ensure their attacking players finish more accurately, as they failed to capitalise on the several opportunities they created in this match.