3 stats: Atlético crash out of the Champions League with draw vs Bayer Leverkusen

Atletico Madrid have crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage for only the second time in the Diego Simeone era, thanks to a 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano on Wednesday night.

Goals from Yannick Carrasco and Rodrigo de Paul were not enough as they twice drew Atleti back level after Moussa Diaby and Callum Hudson-Odoi both netted in the first half.

Here are three stats to help understand the game.

90+8 - Yannick Carrasco’s was the latest penalty miss to eliminate a team from the Champions League, ever

As if it wasn’t bad enough already, Carrasco’s last-gasp miss wasn’t just a heartbreaking moment, but it was THE most heartbreaking moment.

Never before has a team on the verge of elimination had a penalty kick taken so late in the game... and missed.

It’s no surprise given that the penalty was awarded after the final whistle had already been blown, but Carrasco simply couldn’t hold his nerve, as he had done in similar circumstances in the 12th minute of injury time against Espanyol in LaLiga earlier this year.

The result was that rather than heading to Porto with it all to play for, Atleti now go to Portugal needing a win to even guarantee reaching the Europa League. Fine margins.

2 - Goals from outside the box, the first time in the UCL since Anfield in 2020

Atlético have had a grand total of 44 shots in their last two Champions League games, both at their home stadium of the Metropolitano, and only two have ended up hitting the back of the net.

Both of them have come from outside the penalty box, firstly from Carrasco’s first half effort and then later from de Paul at the other end.

No forward has scored for Atlético in Europe this season since Antoine Griezmann’s late winner against Porto on matchday one, the only goal to date from an attacker. That raises question marks over the likes of Ángel Correa, Álvaro Morata, Matheus Cunha and João Félix, who cannot complain of a lack of opportunities.

This was the first time two goals from outside the box came in the same European fixture for Atlético since Liverpool were seen off at Anfield. If that was one of the highs of Diego Simeone’s reign, at least in European competition, this was the complete opposite.

Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

-6.01 - The underperformance of goals, according to expected goals

With 44 shots across the last two games, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Atlético have underperformed xG spectacularly, particularly in the last four matches.

Atleti have scored 4 goals from 8.81 xG in the competition this season. No Champions League side has underperformed their xG more than that.

Across the last four games, Atleti would be expected to have scored SIX more goals than they actually have. Simon Mignolet and Lukáš Hrádecký have made some incredible stops, but this problem goes far beyond that.

At the other end, 5.19 xG conceded has led to 6 goals let in by Jan Oblak. That’s not too bad a record, and certainly not something to be overly concerned about. But when you’re so wasteful at the other end, it really does demand a miraculous performance in front of goal to compensate.