Atletico Madrid vs. Leverkusen: Score, Reaction from 2017 Champions League Match

Atletico Madrid advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday after a 0-0 stalemate against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their round-of-16 meeting was enough to seal a 4-2 aggregate victory at the Vicente Calderon.   

A match that promised fireworks fell short of those expectations as Leverkusen struggled to give their hosts the trouble they would have needed in order to let their first-leg lead slip.

Fernando Torres made his return to the Atleti bench for the first time since he was knocked out against Deportivo La Coruna at the beginning of the month, while Thomas Partey made his first Champions League start.

The Spaniards joined compatriots Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, extending an impressive run of results in Europe's premier competitions, per BT Sport Football:

Los Rojiblancos looked happy to operate without the ball during the opening exchanges of Wednesday's collision, as Partey and Koke had a large hand in controlling things from the middle of the park.

Leverkusen eventually found their footing at the Vicente Calderon, however, and goalkeeper Bernd Leno played a key hand in keeping Atleti's advances at bay before propelling the German visitors into action.

Julian Brandt had a beaming chance to push Leverkusen in front near the 27-minute mark, when a quick break up the pitch saw the German in space inside Atleti's box before Jose Gimenez got back to clear the danger.

Atleti found the only shots on target in the opening 45 minutes, however, and Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC summarised a fairly uneventful first half for both teams:

Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann did his utmost to give the fans a boost in energy when his cute lob attempt early in the second half almost bamboozled Leno only to float not far short of the left post.

Angel Correa had conjured up some of the home side's more promising plays in the first half, and the Argentinian sparked his men into action after the restart before Nicolas Gaitan replaced him in the 64th minute.

Leverkusen knew it wouldn't be their night, however, when Atleti stopper Jan Oblak made a tremendous trio of saves, first denying Brandt before Kevin Volland could only hit the Slovenian twice in quick succession.

Javier Hernandez then drew the fourth shot in a matter seconds wide of Oblak's right post, and Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse illustrated just how impressive the athletic flurry from Atleti's saviour was:

That proved about as hairy as things got for Atletico boss Diego Simeone, however, who most likely would have admitted he was expecting more of a challenge from Wednesday's visitors.

That being said, the hosts were astute in their graft, largely thanks to the calming presence of star centre-back Diego Godin. Ross Dunbar of German outlet DW Sports praised the hosts' comfort in their craft:

Atletico Madrid will now head into Sunday's crucial La Liga clash at home to Sevilla with renewed vigour for what they might achieve in Spain's top flight as they hope to move within two points of their third-placed opponents.

Meanwhile, the out-of-form Leverkusen will return to domestic action on Saturday when they travel to Hoffenheim in the hopes they can climb away from the middle of the Bundesliga.

Post-Match Reaction

Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

While some around Atleti may have been tempted to enjoy the present and revel in their current success, Simeone was more tempted to look toward the more distant future as a result of Wednesday's display.

One of the Argentinian's first comments in his post-match press conference was in relation to the youth of his lineup against Leverkusen, which boasted an average player age of just under 24, per Spanish reporter Sid Lowe:

Despite the result, Leverkusen manager Tayfun Korkut also found some room for positives on the evening of a defeat, having only arrived as a replacement for Roger Schmidt just over a week ago, per the Champions League:

Per Lowe, Korkut also made sure to marvel at the majestic triple save pulled off by Oblak between the Atleti posts, noting he'd never seen a save like it.