Atlético lose to Real Madrid by the minimum and are knocked out of the Cup (0-1)
A goal from Cristiano Ronaldo wipes out the Atlético hopes
It wasn’t meant to be. Atlético de Madrid lost by the slightest of scores (0-1) to Real Madrid in the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. This result increased the aggregate score after the first leg result from the Santiago Bernabéu (3-1) and left Quique’s team out of a competition that had filled the ‘rojiblanco’ faithful with hopes.
Atlético de Madrid went into the derby at the Vicente Calderón with the important absences of Kun Agüero and Mario Suárez. Quique Sánchez Flores had to find others to fill their places in the hopes of cancelling out Real Madrid. Mourinho’s squad, for its part, arrived at the Manzanares confidently after the first leg result (3-1), but with the intention of looking for the victory and passing through the semi-finals on their own merits. The home squad wanted to keep them from doing this from the opening minute, which is a difficult task to carry out.
The two teams spent the opening minutes sizing each other up. They both showed each other plenty of respect during the first five minutes of the match. Atlético de Madrid knew that they had to keep a clean sheet and began by attacking the visiting defense. The squad from the Manzanares was playing with something in its favor, as the full Calderón joined the fighting spirit of Quique S. Flores’ players on the pitch in unison.
Things began to get going in the 15th minute when José Antonio Reyes was quick to pressure a slow Iker Casillas and get a foot on his clearance, almost scoring on the rebound, but somehow the ball didn’t bounce in. The visitors had a good scare with that mistake from their goalkeeper. Atlético, although without creating clear chances, were able to approach Real Madrid’s area. But the efficiency of Mourinho’s men was devastating. Cristiano Ronaldo beat De Gea on a first-timed shot after a pass from Sergio Ramos from the right wing. The Portuguese player put the first goal on the scoreboard and worry to the faces on the ‘rojiblanco’ bench.
Things looked bleak for the home side. Forlán had a chance to level in minute 29, but the Uruguayan was unable to latch onto the pass after a great run from Diego Costa, who had come on for an injured Reyes minutes earlier. Atlético couldn’t drop their heads, although they were facing an uphill battle. With the lead on the scoreboard, Real Madrid settled in and little-by-little began to thread pass after pass together until arriving at De Gea’s goal. First Sergio Ramos, down the right flank, and then Di María from outside the area, tried to surprise the young Atlético netminder, but fortunately the keeper wrapped up both shots without too much trouble.
With a big difference in the overall score from both legs, the two teams retook the pitch with 45 minutes left to play. Portuguese midfielder Tiago wanted to surprise Casillas with a distant chip shot, but the Real Madrid captain reacted quickly. Minutes later, Fran Mérida tried to beat Iker to the far post after a pass from Forlán, but again the Madrid keeper wrapped it up. Atlético slowly got back into the game and had three shots on goal in just under ten minutes. The supporters recognized the effort and responded with applause.
After these positive minutes, Real Madrid retook control on the pitch. They were playing with the calm of having a big lead, and Mourinho’s men took their time in creating play. For Atlético, Diego Costa was very active all match and had a chance in minute 63, but his shot was off-target.
The entrance of Kaká for Real Madrid brought pace to their attacks. In spite of the large deficit, Atleti tried to place negativity on the side and continued to wage battle. From that fighting spirit emerged chances such as one for Diego Costa in the 78th minute. The Brazilian used his speed to find space on the right and send through a fine pass for Forlán, but the ball was cut out by a Madrid defender in the nick of time.
Atlético played their last cards, but the fatigue and lack of time on the clock weighed against them. It was clear from the beginning that the deficit would be tough to overcome, and this became even more difficult with the unexpected injury to Reyes, who had been stuck in from the opening whistle. With time running in their favor, Mourinho’s lads had the match under control, although they no longer created clear scoring chances. The final minutes ticked out without much ado in a derby that leaves Quique’s players out of the knockout competition.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 0; REAL MADRID, 1 (Cristiano Ronaldo).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Valera, Perea, Ujfalusi, Filipe Luis; Assunçao, Tiago (Juanfran, 65’), Reyes (Diego Costa, 25’), Fran Mérida (Alberto Perea, 74’), Elías and Forlán.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Albiol, Carvalho, Arbeloa; Xabi Alonso, Khedira (Gago, 82’); Di María (Granero, 68’), Özil (Kaká, 74’), Marcelo and Cristiano.
Referee: Turienzo Álvarez. For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Tiago (32’), Juanfran (71’) and Diego Costa (88’); for Real Madrid booked Arbeloa (21’), Marcelo (44’), Cristiano Ronaldo (55’), Sergio Ramos (73’), Gago (89’) and Albiol (89’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Quarterfinal return leg match of the Copa del Rey.
Goals:
0-1 (23’). Cristiano Ronaldo beats De Gea after a nice pass from Sergio Ramos.
Atlético de Madrid went into the derby at the Vicente Calderón with the important absences of Kun Agüero and Mario Suárez. Quique Sánchez Flores had to find others to fill their places in the hopes of cancelling out Real Madrid. Mourinho’s squad, for its part, arrived at the Manzanares confidently after the first leg result (3-1), but with the intention of looking for the victory and passing through the semi-finals on their own merits. The home squad wanted to keep them from doing this from the opening minute, which is a difficult task to carry out.
The two teams spent the opening minutes sizing each other up. They both showed each other plenty of respect during the first five minutes of the match. Atlético de Madrid knew that they had to keep a clean sheet and began by attacking the visiting defense. The squad from the Manzanares was playing with something in its favor, as the full Calderón joined the fighting spirit of Quique S. Flores’ players on the pitch in unison.
Things began to get going in the 15th minute when José Antonio Reyes was quick to pressure a slow Iker Casillas and get a foot on his clearance, almost scoring on the rebound, but somehow the ball didn’t bounce in. The visitors had a good scare with that mistake from their goalkeeper. Atlético, although without creating clear chances, were able to approach Real Madrid’s area. But the efficiency of Mourinho’s men was devastating. Cristiano Ronaldo beat De Gea on a first-timed shot after a pass from Sergio Ramos from the right wing. The Portuguese player put the first goal on the scoreboard and worry to the faces on the ‘rojiblanco’ bench.
Things looked bleak for the home side. Forlán had a chance to level in minute 29, but the Uruguayan was unable to latch onto the pass after a great run from Diego Costa, who had come on for an injured Reyes minutes earlier. Atlético couldn’t drop their heads, although they were facing an uphill battle. With the lead on the scoreboard, Real Madrid settled in and little-by-little began to thread pass after pass together until arriving at De Gea’s goal. First Sergio Ramos, down the right flank, and then Di María from outside the area, tried to surprise the young Atlético netminder, but fortunately the keeper wrapped up both shots without too much trouble.
With a big difference in the overall score from both legs, the two teams retook the pitch with 45 minutes left to play. Portuguese midfielder Tiago wanted to surprise Casillas with a distant chip shot, but the Real Madrid captain reacted quickly. Minutes later, Fran Mérida tried to beat Iker to the far post after a pass from Forlán, but again the Madrid keeper wrapped it up. Atlético slowly got back into the game and had three shots on goal in just under ten minutes. The supporters recognized the effort and responded with applause.
After these positive minutes, Real Madrid retook control on the pitch. They were playing with the calm of having a big lead, and Mourinho’s men took their time in creating play. For Atlético, Diego Costa was very active all match and had a chance in minute 63, but his shot was off-target.
The entrance of Kaká for Real Madrid brought pace to their attacks. In spite of the large deficit, Atleti tried to place negativity on the side and continued to wage battle. From that fighting spirit emerged chances such as one for Diego Costa in the 78th minute. The Brazilian used his speed to find space on the right and send through a fine pass for Forlán, but the ball was cut out by a Madrid defender in the nick of time.
Atlético played their last cards, but the fatigue and lack of time on the clock weighed against them. It was clear from the beginning that the deficit would be tough to overcome, and this became even more difficult with the unexpected injury to Reyes, who had been stuck in from the opening whistle. With time running in their favor, Mourinho’s lads had the match under control, although they no longer created clear scoring chances. The final minutes ticked out without much ado in a derby that leaves Quique’s players out of the knockout competition.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 0; REAL MADRID, 1 (Cristiano Ronaldo).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Valera, Perea, Ujfalusi, Filipe Luis; Assunçao, Tiago (Juanfran, 65’), Reyes (Diego Costa, 25’), Fran Mérida (Alberto Perea, 74’), Elías and Forlán.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Albiol, Carvalho, Arbeloa; Xabi Alonso, Khedira (Gago, 82’); Di María (Granero, 68’), Özil (Kaká, 74’), Marcelo and Cristiano.
Referee: Turienzo Álvarez. For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Tiago (32’), Juanfran (71’) and Diego Costa (88’); for Real Madrid booked Arbeloa (21’), Marcelo (44’), Cristiano Ronaldo (55’), Sergio Ramos (73’), Gago (89’) and Albiol (89’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Quarterfinal return leg match of the Copa del Rey.
Goals:
0-1 (23’). Cristiano Ronaldo beats De Gea after a nice pass from Sergio Ramos.
