Atlético de Madrid are denied by Casillas and fall to Real Madrid (1-2)
The goalkeeper was crucial for the visiting side
Atlético de Madrid were unable to overcome the effectiveness of Iker Casillas, who saved several scoring chances for the home team. The squad from by the Manzanares River did their best, especially in the second half, but Kun Agüero’s goal came too late and they were unable to fight all the way back. Bensema and Özil scored the goals for Mourinho’s team.
Real Madrid arrived at the Vicente Calderón for a league fixture at a key moment for both teams. The ‘blancos’ were obligated to earn the three points if they didn’t want to fall of the pace of Barcelona, who had defeated Michel’s Getafe at Camp Nou. The ‘rojiblancos’ were aware of their opponent’s needs and therefore approached the match with a single premise, to remain calm and use their heads. Nerves couldn’t take over Quique’s lads because that would play against them, and that’s what happened in the opening fifteen minutes.
The first attack went to Mourinho’s men, as Marcelo stole the ball and headed straight for De Gea’s goal, but Benzema’s shot was off-target. Real Madrid got stuck in quickly. After the chance for the Frenchman, Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck on a free kick from outside the area. Atlético’s goalkeeper reacted well, and did so once again in the sixth minute on a fine shot from Özil.
Quique’s men had to react and got straight to it, but the counter-attacks from their rivals were lethal. In the tenth minute, Benzema gave Madrid the lead by deftly finishing a through ball from Khedira. The home side had to make more of an effort in their pressure, which is what Quique asked of them from the sideline. The first dangerous play for Atlético de Madrid came off a set piece taken by José Antonio Reyes, but Reyes punched away the shot.
Atleti enjoyed a nice chance with a Forlán shot from inside the area. Agüero tried a few minutes later with a low shot from the top of the area that almost surprised Iker, as the home team was spurred on. The ‘rojiblancos’ again created danger off a set piece. This time a great header from Godín forced Casillas into tipping over. Thanks to their goalkeeper, the ‘merengues’ kept the lead on the scoreboard.
There were plenty of possible outcomes, as the game went a bit haywire for a few minutes. Real Madrid’s defence opened up and neither Pepe nor Carvalho could do anything to stop the ‘rojiblanco’ attacks, as the home squad started to get comfortable. Quique’s squad threaded together a nice play as again Reyes provided the pace, Forlán the nice pass to Kun Agüero, and the Argentine the shot, although the international netminder again made a nice save. When Atlético were at their best, Özil appeared on the scene. The German finished off a nice play from Marcelo, who had taken the ball down to the endline. It was clearly a painful blow for the home team who had been enjoying their best minutes of the game.
Even though Real Madrid continued trying through the boots of Cristiano, who was unfortunate in front of goal, the ‘rojiblancos’ weren’t about to give up. In the opening moments of the second 45 minutes, Forlán almost cut the lead in half with a nice shot from the side that was just short of the near post. The entrance of home-grown player Koke lent stability and criteria to their play. A half-volley from the central midfielder from well outside the area almost surprised Casillas.
Once again, Iker was providential for his team. The keeper from Mostoles kept out a sure goal from Kun Agüero in the 53rd minute of the match. In the second half, Atlético were giving their all despite the deficit on the scoresheet. Reyes and Kun were leaving it all on the pitch in search of that first goal which would breathe life into them. In this second half, the script changed. Real Madrid closed down in back and Atlético didn’t stop pushing.
Mourinho’s men were aware that they’d stepped off the gas a bit and under the baton of Özil, the visitors awoke and again charged towards De Gea’s goal. Quique tried to revolutionize the game by sending on Diego Costa and taking off Forlán, who was unlucky in his offensive labours.
The end of the match was exciting. The magic, once again, was provided by Kun Agüero. On an individual play, the Argentinean beat Casillas. On this occasion he was unable to stop the Atlético striker, who played a great game. Just one goal from equalizing, the fans roared on and Real Madrid’s players leaned on their experience and their play got rougher. Mourinho’s charges dug into their area and Atlético de Madrid did their best to finish up their heroic deed.
The final minutes were frenetic. The ‘blancos’ knew that a draw would distance them from the league lead and couldn’t allow it. Referee Teixeira Vitienes added three minute of stoppage time and Atleti had that time to try for a miracle. In spite of their desire and enthusiasm in the waning moments, Quique’s pupils could only watch as the three points slipped away.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 1 (Kun Agüero); REAL MADRID, 2 (Benzema and Özil).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Ujfalusi, Domínguez, Godín, Filipe Luis; Mario Suárez, Tiago (Juanfran, 87’), Elías (Koke, 46’), Reyes, Kun and Forlán (Diego Costa, 77’).
Real Madrid: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo; Lass (Arbeloa, 81’), Xabi Alonso, Khedira; Özil, Ronaldo (Di María, 71’) and Benzema (Adebayor, 69’).
Referee: Teixeira Vitienes. For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Kun Agüero (33’) and UJfalusi (36’); for Real Madrid booked Lass (62’), Marcelo (76’) and Arbeloa (87’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 29 of La Liga BBVA. A minute of silence was held before kick-off for the victims of the earthquake in Japan, as well as for Adrián Escudero, the leading goal-scorer in Atlético history in La Liga, who passed away last week.
Goals:
0-1 (10’). Benzema finishes clinically in front of De Gea.
0-2 (32’). Özil latches onto a nice pass from Marcelo, who pulled back from the enline.
1-2 (86’). Kun Agüero dribbles into the area and beats Casillas.
Real Madrid arrived at the Vicente Calderón for a league fixture at a key moment for both teams. The ‘blancos’ were obligated to earn the three points if they didn’t want to fall of the pace of Barcelona, who had defeated Michel’s Getafe at Camp Nou. The ‘rojiblancos’ were aware of their opponent’s needs and therefore approached the match with a single premise, to remain calm and use their heads. Nerves couldn’t take over Quique’s lads because that would play against them, and that’s what happened in the opening fifteen minutes.
The first attack went to Mourinho’s men, as Marcelo stole the ball and headed straight for De Gea’s goal, but Benzema’s shot was off-target. Real Madrid got stuck in quickly. After the chance for the Frenchman, Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck on a free kick from outside the area. Atlético’s goalkeeper reacted well, and did so once again in the sixth minute on a fine shot from Özil.
Quique’s men had to react and got straight to it, but the counter-attacks from their rivals were lethal. In the tenth minute, Benzema gave Madrid the lead by deftly finishing a through ball from Khedira. The home side had to make more of an effort in their pressure, which is what Quique asked of them from the sideline. The first dangerous play for Atlético de Madrid came off a set piece taken by José Antonio Reyes, but Reyes punched away the shot.
Atleti enjoyed a nice chance with a Forlán shot from inside the area. Agüero tried a few minutes later with a low shot from the top of the area that almost surprised Iker, as the home team was spurred on. The ‘rojiblancos’ again created danger off a set piece. This time a great header from Godín forced Casillas into tipping over. Thanks to their goalkeeper, the ‘merengues’ kept the lead on the scoreboard.
There were plenty of possible outcomes, as the game went a bit haywire for a few minutes. Real Madrid’s defence opened up and neither Pepe nor Carvalho could do anything to stop the ‘rojiblanco’ attacks, as the home squad started to get comfortable. Quique’s squad threaded together a nice play as again Reyes provided the pace, Forlán the nice pass to Kun Agüero, and the Argentine the shot, although the international netminder again made a nice save. When Atlético were at their best, Özil appeared on the scene. The German finished off a nice play from Marcelo, who had taken the ball down to the endline. It was clearly a painful blow for the home team who had been enjoying their best minutes of the game.
Even though Real Madrid continued trying through the boots of Cristiano, who was unfortunate in front of goal, the ‘rojiblancos’ weren’t about to give up. In the opening moments of the second 45 minutes, Forlán almost cut the lead in half with a nice shot from the side that was just short of the near post. The entrance of home-grown player Koke lent stability and criteria to their play. A half-volley from the central midfielder from well outside the area almost surprised Casillas.
Once again, Iker was providential for his team. The keeper from Mostoles kept out a sure goal from Kun Agüero in the 53rd minute of the match. In the second half, Atlético were giving their all despite the deficit on the scoresheet. Reyes and Kun were leaving it all on the pitch in search of that first goal which would breathe life into them. In this second half, the script changed. Real Madrid closed down in back and Atlético didn’t stop pushing.
Mourinho’s men were aware that they’d stepped off the gas a bit and under the baton of Özil, the visitors awoke and again charged towards De Gea’s goal. Quique tried to revolutionize the game by sending on Diego Costa and taking off Forlán, who was unlucky in his offensive labours.
The end of the match was exciting. The magic, once again, was provided by Kun Agüero. On an individual play, the Argentinean beat Casillas. On this occasion he was unable to stop the Atlético striker, who played a great game. Just one goal from equalizing, the fans roared on and Real Madrid’s players leaned on their experience and their play got rougher. Mourinho’s charges dug into their area and Atlético de Madrid did their best to finish up their heroic deed.
The final minutes were frenetic. The ‘blancos’ knew that a draw would distance them from the league lead and couldn’t allow it. Referee Teixeira Vitienes added three minute of stoppage time and Atleti had that time to try for a miracle. In spite of their desire and enthusiasm in the waning moments, Quique’s pupils could only watch as the three points slipped away.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 1 (Kun Agüero); REAL MADRID, 2 (Benzema and Özil).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Ujfalusi, Domínguez, Godín, Filipe Luis; Mario Suárez, Tiago (Juanfran, 87’), Elías (Koke, 46’), Reyes, Kun and Forlán (Diego Costa, 77’).
Real Madrid: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo; Lass (Arbeloa, 81’), Xabi Alonso, Khedira; Özil, Ronaldo (Di María, 71’) and Benzema (Adebayor, 69’).
Referee: Teixeira Vitienes. For Atlético de Madrid showed yellow cards to Kun Agüero (33’) and UJfalusi (36’); for Real Madrid booked Lass (62’), Marcelo (76’) and Arbeloa (87’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 29 of La Liga BBVA. A minute of silence was held before kick-off for the victims of the earthquake in Japan, as well as for Adrián Escudero, the leading goal-scorer in Atlético history in La Liga, who passed away last week.
Goals:
0-1 (10’). Benzema finishes clinically in front of De Gea.
0-2 (32’). Özil latches onto a nice pass from Marcelo, who pulled back from the enline.
1-2 (86’). Kun Agüero dribbles into the area and beats Casillas.
