Thanks to modern technology, the Spanish champions were able to salvage a point in the opening match of their European campaign.
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak admitted his side “lacked a bit of creativity” after they were held to a draw at home by Porto.
The 0-0 scoreline is far from telling the whole story as both sides had plenty of chances and Porto even did breach the Atletico defense, but the goal was ruled out.
Mehdi Taremi was able to find the back of the net with 10 minutes left on the clock, but a VAR check revealed that he had handled the ball over the line.
The La Liga titleholders are now without a victory in their last four home games in the Champions League while they’ve also failed to win their opening game in the competition for a third successive season.
“Porto were very good in the game, we lacked a bit of creativity and we had few chances, when you play against a team who wants to play on the counter its always difficult,” Oblak said post-match, per ESPN.
“Their [disallowed] goal came from a big error from us, luckily we have VAR and they gave the handball but we have to stay focused to avoid scares like that.”
Manager Diego Simeone added: “We have to keep improving.
“It will be a complex group, Milan were winning 2-1 at Liverpool and ended up losing, we could have won or lost, it’s clear all the games will be competitive.
“We have to speed up our game, generate more intensity in midfield and up front, and we’ll work to find it.”
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