Third placed Real Madrid beat second placed Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu to win a highly anticipated capital derby.
Real Madrid showcased its class in an eagerly awaited capital clash, as Los Blancos managed to beat the Rojiblancos 2-0 on a night when Cristiano Ronaldo’s magic was too much for the visitors.
The match saw Real Madrid trail league leaders http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 by 11 points, while Atletico were placed 2nd in the Liga standings, only 3 points behind the Catalans.
It was the first time in this millennium that Atletico went to the Bernabeu, ahead of the current champions in La Liga standings.
A win was on the minds for both the coaches and the two sides were desperate to bag all the three points on offer.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid wanted to keep up the pace with F.C Barcelona while the current title holders wanted to keep their feeblest of title hopes alive, by restricting the gap to the same 11 points that already existed.
The match was also hyped up as the battle of individual performances between Portuguese captain http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Radamel-Falcao-c30276. Ronaldo and Falcao both had started the season well, bagging 12 and 11 league goals already, before the
match.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-c9622 Ronaldo stole the show on the night as his sublime free kick, 16 minutes into the first half was impossible for the Atletico shot stopper to stop and it ended up in the back of the net to send the home side support into raptures.
Atletico’s makeshift left back, Cata Diaz was on deemed guilty for the crime, when Mesut Ozil doubled Real’s tally on the other side of the break.
The German international executed a half volley with perfection, after Cristiano Ronaldo had found him with a beautiful sprayed pass.
Ozil’s 66th minute finish graced the bottom corner of the Atletico goal and the home side was well in command after their two goal advantage, seeing the game out eventually and dominating the play.
The defeat for Atletico has seen them leave the Bernabeu without the winners tag for almost 13 years and the curse of the Bernabeu continues to loom large for the Rojiblancos for at least 14 years now.
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