Onyedika's absence costs Club Brugge as Atlético crash out of Europe

Onyedika missed the final group game.

UCL Onyedika's absence costs Club Brugge as Atlético crash out of Europe

Izuchukwu Akawor 21:05 - 01.11.2022

The Super Eagles midfielder was missing in action and it cost his club top spot in Group B.

Nigerian international Raphael Onyedika was a surprise omission as Club Brugge faced German side Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.

Both club went head-to-head in the final game of the group stage in the Champions League with a lot at stake for both sides.

Mignolet of Club Brugge pulls off a stunning save.

Onyedika's Brugge needed a win or to match any result by FC Porto to remain top of the table while Leverkusen needed a win or a draw to pick a Europa League spot as long as Atlético Madrid fail to match them.

In the end, Nigerian defensive midfielder, Onyedika was left out of the Brugge squad and it ultimately cost the Belgian the top spot after a goalless affair in German.

The result proved costly for the Belgians as they finished second behind Porto, who defeated Atlético Madrid in the other Group game.

Leverkusen steals Europa League ticket as Porto sends Atlético parking

Bundesliga side Leverkusen will continue its journey in Europe in the Europa League at the expense of La Liga giant Atlético Madrid following a dramatic final group games.

Ahead of the final group game, Leverkusen and Atlético were in battle for who will finish third and take the ticket to Europa League. 

Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen has stolen the UEL ticket.

However, a shock 2-1 defeat in Portugal for Diego Simeone’s side means the end of the road in Europe this season after Leverkusen picked up a point in the other Group game.

Porto put on a show in the first half at home led by goal scorers, Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustaquio to break the hearts of Atlético Madrid fans.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Ivan Marcano's own goal in added time did give Atlético small hope but it was rather too late to change the result.

With the result, Porto sent Atlético packing with their first win over the Spanish side in six meetings.