Atlético earn their first victory of 2011 against Mallorca (3-0)
Valera, Forlán and Reyes were the ‘rojiblanco’ goal-scorers
Atlético de Madrid earned an important victory (3-0) over Real Mallorca in a match that ended with two red cards and in which the goals from Valera, Forlán and Reyes were enough to register a turning point for Quique’s squad. The ‘rojiblancos’ thus grabbed their first win of the New Year and drew themselves closer to their goal of Champions spots. With this victory, Atlético will unquestionably go into the Cup quarterfinal return leg against Real Madrid with greater confidence.
Atlético had to overcome the large number of setbacks that they were dealing with leading up to the match. With the absences of Kun Agüero, injured in the Cup encounter against Real Madrid, and of Perea, who was a last-minute scratch due to an acute tonsillitis, Quique Sánchez Flores was forced to make changes to the squad. The big news in the starting line-up was the presence of Elías, who was making his debut in front of his new supporters.
Mallorca tried to surprise David De Gea On the first play. Casadesús volleyed from the top of the area, but his shot sailed high. Mallorca came out strong and didn’t want to waste any time in taking the lead. Atlético de Madrid couldn’t allow themselves to fall asleep, as they were obligated to earn the three points in order to forget about the negative trend of recent games. Laudrup’s lads came out with intensity and put the ‘rojiblanco’ defense to the test in the opening ten minutes.
Things didn’t look good for the home team, but then Juan Valera showed up. The right back opened the scoring on Atlético de Madrid’s first attack. The play came off a corner kick taken by Reyes, and the defender from Murcia headed past a helpless Aouate at the near post. It turned out to be a good start for Quique’s men, as they wanted to leave behind the criticism they had received after their league defeat at the hands of Hércules.
With the lead on the scoreboard, the ‘rojiblancos’ were able to manage the game more calmly. The tactical plan and the changes made by Quique and his coaching staff, though questioned by some in the opening minutes, caught Mallorca off guard and turned out to be more than effective.
Debutant Elías had a chance to increase the lead in the 23rd minute. The Brazilian pounced on a bouncing ball outside the area to unleash a hard shot at Aouate’s goal, but the ball went well over the crossbar. After the openings ten minutes Atlético began to get settled in on the pitch, though Mallorca had another chance in minute 28. Kevin sent in a cross from the left and Nsue got his head on the ball at the far post, but his shot trickled wide. Two minutes later, De Gea saved the equalizer off a rifled shot from Pereira.
The home squad couldn’t have taken their chances any better. In the 23rd minute, Uruguayan Diego Forlán nicked the second for the Madrid side after a fine through ball from Fran Mérida left him one-on-one with Aouate. The efficiency of the ‘colchoneros’ summed up a first half in which Quique’s men had given themselves a solid lead going into the final 45 minutes.
The second half began without rhythm or scoring chances. Neither Atlético de Madrid nor Mallorca were able to create any real danger, although it was the home squad that was able to give a hint of an attack from the boots of José Antonio Reyes. The winger from Sevilla blasted over with his left foot from outside the area in the 60th minute.
The fact is that the lack of accuracy in passing all over the field marked the play of both sides. Without playing brilliant football, Atlético were doing a good job of maintaining a result that more than satisfied their European interests. But things got complicated for Atlético de Madrid when Antonio López was sent off for pushing over Nsue inside the area. The referee called the penalty, but De Gea made a fine diving save on the ensuing spot kick to placate the nerves of the ‘rojiblanco’ faithful. With the fans applauding their home-grown idol, Atlético drew up a new game plan with numeric inferiority.
Mallorca weren’t about to give up, but the clock was running against them. Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid tried to restructure their lines a man down. Tiago made a huge physical effort in the final ten minutes, but even so tried to look for those passes that would give his forwards a chance to surprise the Mallorca goalkeeper.
Five minutes from the final whistle, and with De Guzmán being sent off for Laudrup’s lads, the intensity match began to wane. Nerves took over the players and those in the grandstands begged their players for one final push. Reyes wanted to put the icing on the cake by scoring a goal in the 93rd minute that left a wonderful taste in the mouths of the Atleti supporters, who will attend the Vicente Calderón en masse for the second leg Cup tie on Thursday.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 3 (Valera, Forlán and Reyes); MALLORCA, 0.
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Valera, Ujfalusi, Godín, Antonio López; Assunçao, Tiago, Elías, Fran Mérida (Diego Costa, 85’); Reyes and Forlán (Filipe Luis, 71’).
Mallorca: Aouate; Kevin, Rubén (Cavenaghi, 73’), Nunes, Cendrós; De Guzmán, Joao Víctor, Pereira, Nsue; V. Casadesus (G.Castro, 25’) and Webó.
Referee: Ayza Gámez. For Atlético de Madrid sent off Antonio López (68’) for direct red and showed yellow cards to Forlán (71’) and Assunçao (81’); por parte del Mallorca sent off De Guzmán with direct red card (86’) and booked Nsue (64’), Cendrós (65’) and Pereira (86’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Fixture corresponding to matchday 19 of La Liga BBVA First Division.
Goals:
1-0. (13’). Valera heads in a corner kick taken by Jose Antonio Reyes at the near post.
2-0. (33’). Forlán beats Aoute after receiving a through ball from Fran Mérida.
3-0. (93‘). Reyes beats Aouate to tally the third in stoppage time.
Atlético had to overcome the large number of setbacks that they were dealing with leading up to the match. With the absences of Kun Agüero, injured in the Cup encounter against Real Madrid, and of Perea, who was a last-minute scratch due to an acute tonsillitis, Quique Sánchez Flores was forced to make changes to the squad. The big news in the starting line-up was the presence of Elías, who was making his debut in front of his new supporters.
Mallorca tried to surprise David De Gea On the first play. Casadesús volleyed from the top of the area, but his shot sailed high. Mallorca came out strong and didn’t want to waste any time in taking the lead. Atlético de Madrid couldn’t allow themselves to fall asleep, as they were obligated to earn the three points in order to forget about the negative trend of recent games. Laudrup’s lads came out with intensity and put the ‘rojiblanco’ defense to the test in the opening ten minutes.
Things didn’t look good for the home team, but then Juan Valera showed up. The right back opened the scoring on Atlético de Madrid’s first attack. The play came off a corner kick taken by Reyes, and the defender from Murcia headed past a helpless Aouate at the near post. It turned out to be a good start for Quique’s men, as they wanted to leave behind the criticism they had received after their league defeat at the hands of Hércules.
With the lead on the scoreboard, the ‘rojiblancos’ were able to manage the game more calmly. The tactical plan and the changes made by Quique and his coaching staff, though questioned by some in the opening minutes, caught Mallorca off guard and turned out to be more than effective.
Debutant Elías had a chance to increase the lead in the 23rd minute. The Brazilian pounced on a bouncing ball outside the area to unleash a hard shot at Aouate’s goal, but the ball went well over the crossbar. After the openings ten minutes Atlético began to get settled in on the pitch, though Mallorca had another chance in minute 28. Kevin sent in a cross from the left and Nsue got his head on the ball at the far post, but his shot trickled wide. Two minutes later, De Gea saved the equalizer off a rifled shot from Pereira.
The home squad couldn’t have taken their chances any better. In the 23rd minute, Uruguayan Diego Forlán nicked the second for the Madrid side after a fine through ball from Fran Mérida left him one-on-one with Aouate. The efficiency of the ‘colchoneros’ summed up a first half in which Quique’s men had given themselves a solid lead going into the final 45 minutes.
The second half began without rhythm or scoring chances. Neither Atlético de Madrid nor Mallorca were able to create any real danger, although it was the home squad that was able to give a hint of an attack from the boots of José Antonio Reyes. The winger from Sevilla blasted over with his left foot from outside the area in the 60th minute.
The fact is that the lack of accuracy in passing all over the field marked the play of both sides. Without playing brilliant football, Atlético were doing a good job of maintaining a result that more than satisfied their European interests. But things got complicated for Atlético de Madrid when Antonio López was sent off for pushing over Nsue inside the area. The referee called the penalty, but De Gea made a fine diving save on the ensuing spot kick to placate the nerves of the ‘rojiblanco’ faithful. With the fans applauding their home-grown idol, Atlético drew up a new game plan with numeric inferiority.
Mallorca weren’t about to give up, but the clock was running against them. Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid tried to restructure their lines a man down. Tiago made a huge physical effort in the final ten minutes, but even so tried to look for those passes that would give his forwards a chance to surprise the Mallorca goalkeeper.
Five minutes from the final whistle, and with De Guzmán being sent off for Laudrup’s lads, the intensity match began to wane. Nerves took over the players and those in the grandstands begged their players for one final push. Reyes wanted to put the icing on the cake by scoring a goal in the 93rd minute that left a wonderful taste in the mouths of the Atleti supporters, who will attend the Vicente Calderón en masse for the second leg Cup tie on Thursday.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 3 (Valera, Forlán and Reyes); MALLORCA, 0.
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea; Valera, Ujfalusi, Godín, Antonio López; Assunçao, Tiago, Elías, Fran Mérida (Diego Costa, 85’); Reyes and Forlán (Filipe Luis, 71’).
Mallorca: Aouate; Kevin, Rubén (Cavenaghi, 73’), Nunes, Cendrós; De Guzmán, Joao Víctor, Pereira, Nsue; V. Casadesus (G.Castro, 25’) and Webó.
Referee: Ayza Gámez. For Atlético de Madrid sent off Antonio López (68’) for direct red and showed yellow cards to Forlán (71’) and Assunçao (81’); por parte del Mallorca sent off De Guzmán with direct red card (86’) and booked Nsue (64’), Cendrós (65’) and Pereira (86’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Fixture corresponding to matchday 19 of La Liga BBVA First Division.
Goals:
1-0. (13’). Valera heads in a corner kick taken by Jose Antonio Reyes at the near post.
2-0. (33’). Forlán beats Aoute after receiving a through ball from Fran Mérida.
3-0. (93‘). Reyes beats Aouate to tally the third in stoppage time.
