UEFA Europa League: Atlético Madrid Leave It Late Against Stade Rennes

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky rather than good.

Just ask Atlético Madrid following their draw with Stade Rennes in their second match of the Europa League group stage.

Atléti were certainly looking to rebound following the devastating 5-0 loss to Barcelona the previous weekend. Prior to that match, Los Colchoneros had been flying and striker Radamel Falcao had scored five goals in two matches.

Much like the match with Barça, Falcao was a non-factor, as was essentially every other player in the Atléti attack.

The match started off a bit slowly in the first half. Rennes dominated much of the possession in midfield. It was a bit surprising because the French club elected to have arguably its best player, midfielder Yann M'Vila, listed as a substitute.

In the second half, however, Rennes really came out firing. The club began turning their possession advantage into a solid attack. It seemed only a matter of time before Rennes found the back of the net.

That moment came in the 56th minute when striker Victor Montano unleashed an unstoppable strike in the upper left corner of the goal. They continued the attack but were not able to find the second goal to essentially put the match away.

It proved costly when Atlético had a corner kick in the 87th minute. Much of the Rennes defence was not paying attention, as Atléti midfielder Salvio received the short corner kick and crossed into Juanfran who fired home the equalizer.

The result was wholly undeserved for Atlético. Rennes defender Kévin Théophile-Catherine might have been man of the match. He was dangerous running down the left flank and seemed to be everywhere on the pitch.

For Atléti, it's probably best to forget about this result and focus on Sunday's La Liga matchup with Sevilla. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had a really good match. He was always in a good position and reliable when shots were fired in. There was nothing he could do on the Montano goal.

It was a bit worrying to see midfielder Diego limping in the 21st minute. He continued to play on, but following a tackle in the second half, he was limping again. The Brazilian really didn't have a great match and misplaced many of his passes.

He picked up a minor injury in the match against Racing Santander a week and a half ago. Diego then missed the following match against Sporting Gijon.

On the positive side, it was good to see manager Gregorio Manzano select winger Arda Turan over José Antonio Reyes. Manzano caught a little criticism, and rightfully so, for choosing to start Reyes over Arda in the Barcelona match.

Reyes has yet to really make an impact this season. He just seems to be wandering around the pitch.

With the draw, Atlético sits atop Group I with Udinese. Both squads have collected four points. The two teams will meet October 20th.