Copa Del Rey: Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol – First Half Report (Part 1)
Both the Spanish teams were to face each other in a Copa Del Rey first leg. It was the last fixture for the Spanish teams right before the winter break. With Copa Del Rey coming up for the Spanish side, they had to play just one more match before heading
towards the New Year.
The mid table side Atletico Madrid felt confident before heading into the next game as they won 0-3 from the Spanish side Malaga during their weekend fixture. On the other hand, Espanyol were the ones who suffered a humiliating defeat in their home ground
as they faced the high flying Josep Guardiola’s side, Barcelona. Espanyol did not lose a single game at home throughout the season but Barcelona broke their defensive walls five times to win the game 1-5.
However, the cause of concern for Espanyol was that they were to visit Madrid in the Estadio http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vicente-c36001 Calderon. Despite the fact that Espanyol were on the fourth spot in the Spanish La Liga and even though they looked to be quite extraordinary during the
season, that one particular loss from Barcelona could have easily lowered their morale. With a three goal win against Malaga, Atletico Madrid were flying high as they were ready to face Espanyol in a Copa Del Rey first leg at home.
The home team’s coach Enrique Sanchez Flores wanted his side to come out with flying colours during this fixture and that was the basic reason why he played his best available players in the starting eleven. The first choice goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-de-Gea-c10463 was played
between the two poles and he was assisted by Tomas Ujfalusi, Alvaro Dominguez, Luis Aramanto Perea and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Filipe-c13764 Luis at the back. Simao and Tiago featured on their favourite wing positions while Paulo Assuncao and Jose Antonio Reyes played in the centre of the
pitch. Up front, the two best strikers of the team were played as Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan both featured in the first team.
Meanwhile, the visitors brought a strong squad as well. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristian-c9491 Alvares who stood guard
between the two poles as he featured as a goal stopper. Chica, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alberto-c4309 Datolo and Javi Marquez featured in the midfield while Verdu and Baena played on the flanks. A traditional
4-4-2 was introduced by the fourth placed Espanyol side and the “impact making” http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-c33030 Garcia de la Fuente featured up front as the two strikers.
The first half kicked off with an amazing pace as both the teams looked forward to beating each other. The home side tried to take advantage of their home ground and home crowd and pushed forward first. However, they found it hard to get past Espanyol’s
strong defensive walls and the ball was lost by the Madrid strikers. Espanyol were playing the way they played against Barcelona. They were putting too much pressure on the opposition player who was carrying the ball in the midfield. This way, they were able
to contain the possession and tried to press forward to pressurise the home side’s defence as well.
To be continued in Part 2…
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