Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata made it two goals in two games after he scored for his team during the league win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday evening.

Former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata scored one of the goals as Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at the new Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Atletico Madrid were forced to a 1-1 draw at home by 10-man Valencia in their last league game and also drew their previous Spanish La Liga game at the home of Real Valladolid (goalless draw).

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The 2013/14 Spanish La Liga champions took the lead through Saul Niguez in the first half of the game off an assist from Angel Correa who started the game ahead of another ex-Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

Morata wrapped up the points for Atletico Madrid just after the hour mark off another assist from the aforementioned Angel Correa.

The former Juventus, Chelsea and Real Madrid player rewarded manager Diego Simeone after he was handed a start due to his performance in the Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

Alvaro Morata came on as a second-half substitute to score the winning goal and give his team a 1-0 win over the German Bundesliga club.

The 2019-20 Champions League group stage is well underway, with the third round of games being played this week. As we reach the halfway stage, it’s looking great for some of the early favourites, with Manchester City and Bayern Munich topping their respective groups. But with gaps starting to show between teams in each group, who looks as though they can cause a shock and progress to the knockout stages? Let’s take a look at some of the possible contenders and if you think one of the teams is worth an outside punt, check out the latest Champions League odds: https://www.paddypower.com/football/uefa-champions-league.

Club Brugge

When the draw was made, Group A looked like it would be a formality with 13-time winners Real Madrid and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain the favourites to progress. The group has been anything but easy thus far and Belgian outfit Club Brugge sit in second place with two points from two games. 

After a 0-0 draw in their opening fixture with Galatasaray, Brugge travelled to the Bernabéu and found themselves two goals in front at half time. Unfortunately for the Blue-Blacks, Real pegged them back and a sending off for Ruud Vormer allowed Casemiro to equalise from the resulting free kick. Had they held on, daylight would have separated Brugge from the chasing pack but instead, it’s a solitary point.

Brugge are on a six-game unbeaten streak in the Champions League and while next opponents PSG are a formidable force, with Los Blancos struggling to pick up points and Galatasaray failing to score goals, the Belgians must fancy their chances of progression.

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Valencia

As things stand in Group H, Valencia and Chelsea find themselves in a battle for the coveted runners-up place. Chelsea may be the favourites with the bookies to progress, but having already beaten Frank Lampard’s men, we believe Valencia have what it takes.

Los Ches didn’t have the best start to the season and sacked manager Marcelino after just three league games. They currently sit eighth in La Liga with three wins from their opening eight games. Despite the 3-0 hammering to Ajax in their last Champions League match, Albert Celades has turned around their domestic fortunes and this new-found confidence should transfer to the European stage too. 

Valencia host Lille in matchday three and with the Ligue 1 club sitting bottom of the group with no points, it’s a chance for Celades’ side to strengthen their grip on progression to the knockout stages.

Red Bull Salzburg

Group E is something of an unknown entity, and looks to be anybody’s game. Red Bull Salzburg are currently unbeaten in the Austrian Bundesliga and sit third in their Champions League group. Level on points with Liverpool and just one point behind leaders Napoli, Salzburg host the Italians next and the result could well turn the tide of the group going into the second half of the stage.

Although Salzburg lost 4-3 to Liverpool in their last game, they’re scoring goals, having hammered Genk 6-2 in matchday one. While it’s a massive ask to overhaul the current holders, the Austrian side could well spring a surprise in the group – but don’t be surprised if it ends up being decided by head-to-head record. Fans probably wouldn’t like to be reminded of their Europa League round of 16 exit last season – after being 3-1 up from the first leg, they were knocked out by Napoli 4-3 on aggregate.

Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has set a new record after his exploits for the Spanish giants in the Champions League stage.

Alvaro Morata scored the only goal of the game as Atletico Madrid recorded their first win at home in the Champions League this term as a result of the 1-0 win over German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen in the Group D clash played at the new Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

The former Chelsea striker scored the only goal of the game with a little over ten minutes left to play.

Morata had earlier been subbed on as a second-half substitute for petite attacker Angel Correa.

He is the first player to scored for both Madrid clubs in the Champions League.

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Alvaro Morata had previously played for Real Madrid and also scored for them in the Champions League before his move to the Premier League in 2017.

The Spanish international player moved from Real Madrid to Chelsea in the summer of 2017 for a club-record fee of around 60 million pounds.

Atletico Madrid are second in Group D with seven points from the first three games in the Champions League.

They have the same point as top spot recipient Juventus who have superior goal difference.

The speculations about Paul Pogba’s proposed move to Real Madrid was increased during the week as reporters revealed that the player met with Zinedine Zidane during the international break to discuss personal issues.

Though Solskjaer said the player’s meeting with his compatriot has nothing to do with his future at Old Trafford, the manager is obviously seeking his replacement and he has interest in Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez.

The 24-year-old midfielder is set to cost nothing less than £129m in January and the Sun reported that the Red Devils are leading the race for his signature.

As much as Niguez doesn’t appear as a direct replacement for Paul, his presence will definitely add more class and quality to the team’s midfield which is desperately lacking in creativity.

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Niguez’s experience and presence will raise the mood and performance of the players around him and there will be an improved performance from the overall team.

It won’t a huge task for Diego Simeone to sanction his sale in January having brought Joao Felix from Portuguese club Benfica before the start of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the race for Edinson Cavani’s services continues to heat up as Napoli and Juventus have joined in the list of interested suitors.

The PSG star is being linked with a switch to the Theatre of Dreams in January but Napoli are looking at the prospect of re-signing the striker they sold to PSG some years back.

Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid have reportedly joined the keenly contested race to sign Paris Saint Germain (PSG) striker Edinson Cavani.

This is according to the latest reports emanating from the media in Italy.

Edinson Cavani has less than a year left on his contract at PSG and it remains to be seen where his long-term future lies.

The specific publication from popular Italian news portal Calciomercato said that Spanish giants Atletico Madrid are the latest club to show interest in the 32-year-old attacker.

The likes of Manchester United, former club Napoli, Inter Milan and Italian Serie A champions Juventus were mentioned as those untested in a deal for Edinson Cavani.

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The Uruguayan international striker has scored 195 goals for French champions PSG in seven seasons but he’s battling to prove his fitness this season.

Cavani has not played for two months due to a serious hip injury.

His manager at PSG, Thomas Tuchel, has talked about the possibility of the player signing a new deal at the club.

As it stands, Edinson Cavani can start to talk with clubs outside France about a free transfer move next summer as from the start of the New Year.

Edinson Cavani has played for clubs like Palermo and Napoli during his football career.

Manchester United were said to be in contention for Portuguese wonderkid Joao Felix in the summer but Solskjaer surprisingly pulled out of the race to sign him.

Solskjaer’s reasons for taking such a decision were unclear to many until The Athletic reported this morning that the manager took such step because of the youngster’s lack of physical presence.

The Athletic revealed that the Norwegian boss wasn’t convinced with Felix’s physical appearances and he doubted if he can cope with the league’s physical-demanding nature.

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His decision to pull out of the race gave Spanish side Atletico Madrid the chance to lure the 19-year-old to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in in the summer.

It was reported that Diego Simeone’s side paid a huge £113m to Benfica before they finally sealed a deal for the Portuguese star who scored 15 goals and nine assists last season.

As much as United’s decision to end interest in the player has a concrete reason, they ought to have competed for the player due to his overall potentials and his goalscoring prowess.

Since his switch to Atletico Madrid, Joao Felix has scored three goals and one assist. He definitely has a great future ahead of him, and United won’t hesitate to reignite interest in him when the opportunity arises again.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has revealed that Manchester City won’t win the Premier League title and the Champions League title.

Gary Neville talked about the Premier League champions while he was doing his punditry work on popular English news channel Sky Sports.

The former Manchester United defender said that city rivals Manchester City won’t win the two major trophies namely the Champions League and Premier League titles.

According to him, Pep Guardiola knows that he does not have the squad to win those aforementioned major trophies.

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Gary Neville said that the Manchester City defence is not good enough to win those trophies.

Manchester City have lost the services of former skipper Vincent Kompany this summer.

Vincent Kompany left Manchester City when his contract expired in the summer and has since taken up the job as a player/manager at Belgian top flight side Anderlecht.

Apart from losing the services of Vincent Kompany, Manchester City would be without first choice centre back Aymeric Laporte till next year after the French player suffered a serious knee injury.

England international John Stones has also struggled with injury this season thereby forcing manager Pep Guardiola to field defensive midfielder Fernandinho in the centre back position this season.

Real Madrid are still the team to beat in the Spanish La Liga after the immediate past European champions maintained their position at the top of the table despite the draw recorded in their Madrid Derby clash with Atletico Madrid.

The Madrid Derby clash ended in a goalless draw.

Hosts Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid shared the points as the defense of both teams was in top form especially the goalkeepers.

Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois and his Atletico Madrid counterpart Jan Oblak contributed to the result a great deal especially the latter who had to make several saves to ensure that his goal was not breached.

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The result ended the two-game winning run for Real Madrid though their unbeaten run is still intact.

They are the only team yet to suffer defeat in the top flight of Spanish football.

Some weeks ago, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was under serious pressure but it seems to have eased off a bit on the back of seven points in the last three games.

Zidane came under pressure after his Real Madrid team suffered a thrashing at the hands of French champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in their Champions League opener this season.

Real Madrid were on the end of a 3-0 defeat at the home of PSG earlier this month.