Realmadrid News

Atletico 1-1 Real Madrid: "The derby ends in a draw and Real Madrid finish with ten men; Higuaín tallies his first goal"

Atletico Madrid came out of the gates full throttle. Eight years had passed since their last win over their eternal rival, and they made it very clear that they wanted to end the drought. The Rojiblancos dominated the wings and the possession, and they had little trouble reaching Casillas' box. Their first warning shots came with a free kick by Luccin which sailed over the crossbar just two minutes in, followed by Jurado run from the left flank.

The Madridistas couldn't find their game on the hosts' pitch, and the Gago-Emerson duo were outdone by Maniche and Luccin. Guti and Higuaín had no way of getting the ball as their teammates were tied up in the midfield, and Reyes and Raúl were unable to weave their way to Leo Franco's box from the wings. Meanwhile, Atletico stuck to their gameplan. They pressured the Whites on every corner of the field, and it finally bore its fruit. Just over ten minutes had gone by when Galletti's play down the right wing ended with the ball at Fernando Torres' feet. The Spanish international's crossed shot from just inside the box beat Casillas and gave the hosts the lead. It was the Madrid natives first ever goal in a derby.

A disallowed Perea goal because of an offside call on the next play was the fuel the Madridistas needed. Down one, the team was forced to stretch all lines forward. The first opportunity to pull even came by way of an Emerson header. Capello's men continued to put Atletico to the test, and although the Colchoneros were well-positioned on the pitch, there was no way they could maintain such a high level of pressure throughout the entire match.

Gago and Cannavaro nearly draw

Surprising as it may sound, the two first-year Madridistas had the team's best scoring opportunities of the first half. Higuaín's run resulted in Leo Franco's first save of the night. On the ensuing corner kick, neither Gago nor Cannavaro took the initiative to put the ball into the net with the Argentine keeper the last man standing. The two Merengues thought the referee had blown the whistle to call offside, so they just stood there. But it wouldn't be their last chance of the night. Cannavaro received another corner kick on his boot just on the brink of halftime, but he disappointingly lacked accuracy when finishing. Moments prior, Casillas made an incredible save to keep Galetti from scoring.

At the start of the second half, Reyes and Gago were substituted for Cassano and Diarra, respectively. The centre midfielder and forward were brought on to try to give the team more options up front with Guti and Raúl playing along the flanks. The pace of the match slowed considerably as the minutes ticked off the clock, although Atletico was still the better side, but not by much. Diarra brought consistency and possession to the midfield, and Cassano was all over the last third of the field. You could tell the Italian really wanted to contribute, so much so that it was his pass which resulted in the equaliser.

With about 30 minutes remaining, his perfect center through an open gap found Higuaín, who struck the ball passed Leo Franco's right side an into the net. It was the Argentine's first goal since landing in Spain during the winter transfer window, and a complete bombshell for the hosts. The difficult part was done, but the team wanted even more. The equaliser was a real setback for Atleti, who gradually lost control of the game.

Capello made his third change and brought Marcelo in. Guti was slightly injured, so the young Brazilian took full control of the left wing. The match was broken wide open, and any play could have resulted in the game winner. Mista and Seitaridis each had a go, but a combination of Casillas and bad aim prevented the go-ahead goal. Madrid held their ground, even after Cannavaro was sent off for his second yellow. The last few minutes were an all-out grudge match, but each team walked away with one point in hand.


Match report by Luis Navarro
Photos by David Rodríguez and Fernando Comeche
Translation by Matthew Goltz

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 2:40 PM