Alexander Sorloth's hat trick paved the way for Atletico Madrid

MADRID, TUESDAY – Atletico Madrid demonstrated their class by ending the challenge of Club Brugge in the second leg of the Champions League playoff, Wednesday (25/2/2026) early morning WIB at the Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain. Alexander Sorloth emerged as the hero for Atletico by scoring three goals, leading the hosts to a 4-1 victory.

With that victory, Atletico is entitled to advance to the round of 16 with an aggregate lead of 7-4. Brugge's brilliance in holding Atletico to a 3-3 draw in Bruges, Belgium, last week became meaningless as Sorloth played very effectively in the penalty area.

Sorloth's sharpness has begun to improve since last weekend, when Atletico defeated Espanyol with a score of 4-2 at the Metropolitano Stadium. At that time, the Norwegian player scored two goals, ending a three-match winless streak experienced by Atletico in La Liga.

The brace ended Sorloth's six-game goal drought in all competitions. The drought was particularly long, as Sorloth was his club's top scorer in La Liga last season, with 20 goals.

Now, after breaking his deadlock in La Liga, Sorloth immediately erupted in the Champions League match. His cleverness in finding unguarded spaces and capitalizing on passes in the penalty area has made him a lethal goal-scoring machine.

"That was an extraordinary match. We played well by continuously attacking. My teammates provided me with great passes, and I just needed to finish them. We were able to dominate. Overall, it was a good match," said Sorloth to Marca.

Sorloth opened the scoring for Atletico in the 23rd minute, capitalizing on a long pass from Atletico's goalkeeper, Jan Oblak. The Brugge defenders, who were slow to retreat after an attack, made it easy for Sorloth to bypass one defender and beat goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

The counterattack tactics employed by Atletico made it easier for Sorloth to score the second goal as he was not closely guarded by the Brugge defenders. In the 76th minute, Sorloth, along with Ademola Lookman and Antoine Griezmann, pressed the opponent's penalty area, facing only three Brugge defenders. While those three defenders focused on marking Griezmann and Lookman, Sorloth took the opportunity to freely find the back of the Brugge net.

The 1.95-meter-tall player scored again eleven minutes later. Starting from a corner kick, Sorloth managed to escape his marker and complete his hat trick.

In the Champions League, Sorloth has scored five goals in nine matches, averaging 0.56 goals per match this season. This goal percentage is significantly higher compared to his performance in La Liga, where he only scored nine goals in 24 matches, averaging 0.375 goals per match.

The open play from opponents in the Champions League has allowed Sorloth more freedom to score goals. Moreover, Atletico's counter-attacking tactics are very effective. Sorloth, who is often left alone in the front line, is able to play quickly to bring the ball into the penalty area and score.

"I feel very good at this moment, in this season. Being sharp in front of the goal is a fantastic feeling," said Sorloth.

Regarding his first goal, which utilized a long pass from goalkeeper Jan Oblak, the 30-year-old player recounted that he and Oblak had planned such a goal before the match against Brugge. When Oblak held the ball and the opposing players had not yet returned to defense, it was the best moment to launch a long pass to Sorloth, who was not well marked.

“We created some good chances that way,” Sorloth said.

Praise is also due to Oblak in that match. In addition to initiating Atletico's first goal, Oblak made five saves. Two crucial saves were made by Oblak in the first half, during moments that could have resulted in goals. Without those saves, Atletico could have fallen behind immediately, and the players' morale could have suffered.

Atletico scored another goal through Johnny Cardoso, and Brugge managed to respond with a goal from Joel Ordonez. Although Brugge appeared more dominant, controlling 54.7 percent of the match time, Atletico's strong defense made it easy to thwart their attacks.

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone expressed great satisfaction with his team's performance. The victory was achieved through hard work and difficult adaptation. The Atletico squad continues to adapt to the influx of players over the past two seasons.

"We have many new players from last season and also this season. This makes it not easy for us to rediscover our identity. However, I am very happy because we are willing to continue working hard and finally achieved a positive result in this match," said Simeone, in the official YouTube account of Atletico Madrid.