Saul Niguez proved the difference as Atletico Madrid kicked off their Champions League campaign with a narrow 1-0 win at PSV on Tuesday.
Atleti sanctioned three changes from their 4-0 win at Celta Vigo over the weekend as in came Jose Maria Gimenez, Nicolas Gaitan and Kevin Gameiro, the latter of whom demoted Fernando Torres to the substitutes’ bench.
Diego Simeone’s side adopted a direct approach to the game, peppering their opponents’ goal with shots, but only four hit the target as PSV enjoyed the better of possession.
Luuk de Jong had the ball in Jan Oblak’s net on just the fifth minute but was denied by the offside flag, before Koke grazed Jeroen Zoet’s crossbar in an absorbing opening spell.
Nonetheless, Los Colchoneros went into half-time with the lead as Saul unleashed a spectacular volley first time past Zoet on the rebound from a corner only minutes before, despite a gory clash of heads between Davy Propper and Gimenez in the meantime.
Simeone was taking no chances with his substitutions on the hour mark, and while they undoubtedly helped his team to see out the victory, it was not without controversy.
Referee Martin Atkinson drew the ire of PSV when he refused to penalise Godin for a shove in their box and Filipe Luis for bringing down Luciano Narsingh, yet when a third penalty appeal did materalise, Andres Guardado failed to beat Oblak from the spot.
PSV 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Saul 43
PSV: Zoet; Brenet, Isimat, Moreno, Willems; Propper, Hendrix (Ramselaar 67), Schwaab (Pereiro 80), Guardado; Narsingh (Bergwijn 80), De Jong
Atleti: Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Filipe; Gabi, Saul (Torres 77), Koke, Gaitan (Tiago 61); Griezmann, Gameiro (Carrasco 65)
Referee: Atkinson [ENG]
