MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 24: Alexander Sorloth of Atletico de Madrid celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between Atletico de Madrid and Club Brugge KV at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano on February 24, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) | UEFA via Getty ImagesAshwin BallalWed, February 25, 2026 at 4:21 AM UTC·6 min readAtlético Madrid are through to the Champions League round of 16 after a 4–1 win over Club Brugge.
However, the story of this tie, and even this game, was far more layered than a routine European night at the Metropolitano.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor 135 minutes across both legs, Atlético had flirted with self-sabotage. They were sloppy in Belgium despite racing into a two-goal lead, and for long stretches of the return leg they looked like a team carrying the emotional residue of that disappointment.
What followed though was a reminder that this squad — inconsistent, chaotic, occasionally maddening — still has gears it can find when it absolutely must.
A nervy, familiar opening
The opening half felt like a continuation of last week’s uncertainty. Brugge were comfortable and asking uncomfortable questions of a side that, on paper, should have been imposing itself far more decisively.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe numbers only reinforced what the eye could see. Brugge accumulated more xG (expected goals) in the first half. Joel Ordoñéz’s equalizer, an unmarked header from close range in the 36th minute, was worth 0.98 xG. Even excluding that, they were nearly matching the Rojiblancos’ output. They forced four shots on target. Atlético managed one.
For the home side, that one crucially went in. A speculative effort from Alexander Sørloth slipped through Simon Mignolet, who has haunted Atleti in Europe before but endured a night he will not look back on fondly. It was not a move carved open with precision (sorry Oblak); rather it was a moment seized from uncertainty. And it shifted the aggregate balance.
Still, the nerves did not vanish. Brugge continued to test the flanks, find shooting opportunities, and look like a side that believed they belonged. Atleti, meanwhile, did not look like a group fully convinced by their own superiority. At halftime, much like at the conclusion in Belgium, the level scoreboard felt mixed but largely justified.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe difference this time was what came next.
Alexander Sørloth’s statement week
There are runs of form that feel like corrections, and then there are runs that feel like transformations.
I might be getting ahead of myself, but Sørloth’s last two games fall into the latter category.
Hat trick today. Five goals in two matches. Five from six shots on target. Nine total attempts. That level of efficiency is ruthless by any standard, but beyond the finishing, what has stood out is how complete his performances have become.
Sørloth has not simply waited inside the box. He has been active in duels, present in build-up phases and far more connected to the team’s rhythm.
Earlier in the season, criticism of Sørloth centred on isolation. In tighter, more defensive games, he often looked like a striker stranded between centre-backs, feeding off scraps and struggling to influence the flow of play. When Atlético retreated, his involvement shrank. When chances were scarce, misses felt magnified.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut in this tie, and especially in the second half of the return leg, Sørloth looked like a focal point rather than an afterthought. His movement inside the penalty area was sharp. His anticipation, clinical. And perhaps most importantly, he exuded the confidence of a player who knows the next chance is his. Even the opener, aided by Mignolet’s error, came from decisiveness rather than hesitation.
Diego Simeone’s pre-match gamble to bench Ademola Lookman raised eyebrows given Lookman’s recent form. But Simeone later explained that the choice was made because of Sørloth — a vote of faith in the big Norwegian’s profile for this specific match.
It proved decisive.
Lookman would eventually enter and assist Sørloth, extending Atleti’s advantage and extinguishing lingering tension. Rather than undermining one another, the attacking options complemented each other — a dynamic Atlético have searched for throughout the campaign.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith so much conversation around Julián Alvarez rediscovering top form, Sørloth has quietly taken center stage this week. And he has done so in the most emphatic way possible, becoming just the second Atleti player to score a Champions League hattrick after good ol’ Mario Mandzukic in 2014.
Who would have thought, eh?
Contributions that matter, even in imperfect games
Not every standout performance is flawless from start to finish.
For instance, Matteo Ruggeri endured a complicated night defensively. There were moments where he looked off the pace, where Brugge found space behind him, where his positioning invited pressure.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet what has changed in recent weeks is his capacity to influence games even when everything else is not perfectly aligned. Three assists from eight chances created across his last two matches is no small return. Late in this game, as Brugge began to stretch and fatigue set in, Ruggeri delivered crosses with precision and intent. For a left flank that has often lacked creativity this season, his resurgence feels significant.
It may be premature to evoke Filipe Luís (looking at you, Jeremy), but the renewed productivity from that side of the pitch alters Atleti’s balance in meaningful ways. At 23, Ruggeri is still navigating the demands of elite football. That he can produce decisive contributions even on a night where he is tested defensively speaks to growth rather than luck.
There was also Johnny Cardoso, whose evening mirrored Atlético’s overall arc. A shaky first half saw him lose his marker for Brugge’s goal, and for a time he looked slightly overwhelmed. But when the game demanded personality, he delivered it.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWaving off Marcos Llorente and Dávid Hancko — two of Atleti’s best players this season nonetheless — to take ownership of a loose ball on the edge of the area was a bold act. Controlling it calmly and unleashing a thumping volley into the net was even bolder. It was the type of goal that shifts momentum and belief simultaneously.
Beyond the strike, Cardoso recorded five interceptions and provided a combative presence in midfield. In a season disrupted by injuries and the added responsibility of filling in during Pablo Barrios’ absence, he needed a defining moment. This may well be it: the kind of contribution that cements trust in high-stakes matches.
Neither Ruggeri nor Cardoso were immaculate. But both left fingerprints on the game. At this stage of the season, that is what matters.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAtlético will soon learn whether Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur await in the round of 16. Two very different tests, even with the current fortunes of the respective clubs. The latter do look the more enticing fixture now, but UEFA draws have not often favored the Rojiblancos in recent years.
And who is to say that this side can welcome the London outfit feeling like favorites when, despite 5–2 and 4–0 victories over Real Madrid and Barcelona, they have oscillated between brilliance and vulnerability, often within the same week?
Oviedo await at the weekend. Barcelona in the Copa del Rey looms shortly after. The calendar will not soften.
But cup football is mercilessly simple: win and move on.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn this night, Atlético did exactly that — and in a way that restored belief inside the Metropolitano.
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