Spanish Primera Division – Half time review: Real Madrid versus Atletico Madrid
The first Madrid derby of the season between Atletico and Real Madrid started off brightly as both the teams started with their best players on the field. Real Madrid were on the front foot in the first 5 minutes of the match as Ronaldo
burst down the left wing to cross the ball into the Atletico Madrid box. However, Atletico’s defence was on guard to deal with the Portuguese wingers cross as Ujfalusi cleared the ball away from danger. Real Madrid’s first real chance of the night came in
the 3rd minute of the first half as Xabi Alonso’s corner was met with force by Gonzalo Higuain but Atletico’s goalkeeper De Gea was on his best form to hold onto the ball and Real failed to open the scoring.
Atletico soon got into their stride as well as it became apparent that the visitors were playing on a counter attacking strategy rather than a fully offensive one. Their first effort came through Sergio Aguero whose shot was blocked by
Sergio Ramos in the Real Madrid penalty area during 5th minute of the match. Real maintained a monopoly over ball possession in the early stages of first half as Atletico found it hard to sustain possession for an extended period of
time.
In the 8th minute of the match, it was Cristiano Ronaldo once again who ran down the length of the field and then delivered a superbly timed cross into the path of Angel Di Maria, Maria’s shot was spilled by De
Gea as Sami Khedira pounced on the rebound to give Los Blancos the lead but his goal was ruled invalid as the linesman flagged for offside against the German midfielder. The Marcelo-Ronaldo combination down the left hand side of attack for Real Madrid was
prominent throughout the first half as both the tricksters combined effectively on several occasions much to the worry of Atletico Madrid’s defensive.
In the 11th minute of the match, Ricardo Carvalho became an unlikely hero for Real Madrid as Angel Di Maria’s through ball found its way to the onrushing defender via Ujfalusi. The Portuguese defender made no mistakes
as he finished the chance to give Real the lead as the score line turned in favour or the men in white as it stood at 1-0 in first fifteen minutes of the match. It was Carvalho’s second goal of the season.
In the 14th minute of the match, Gonzalo Higuain had a good chance to double Real Madrid’s lead but the Argentinean striker was denied his first goal of the match by De Gea who was again on top form as he pushed
away the centre forwards effort. Atletico soon had another chance to get their first goal of the match as in the 16th minute, Aguero’s cross almost found its way to Forlan. The pass was inches away from the Uruguayan striker as the
opportunity went begging yet again.
In the 18th minute of the match, Real Madrid doubled their lead as Mesut Ozil’s free kick was accurately struck into the bottom left hand corner of the Atletico Madrid goal. De Gea was left helpless as he misjudged
the free kicks trajectory much to the delight of the Real Madrid fans. The second goal really knocked the stuffing out of Atletico who looked dejected after being blitzed by Ozil’s curler.
In the 35th minute of the match, Casillas kept Real’s two goal lead in tact as he punched away Reyes’s shot from outside the Real Madrid penalty area. It was a brilliant save by the Spanish captain who surged through
the air acrobatically to deny Real’s rival a way back into the match. Despite the fact that the match started at a lightening pace, it died down a bit in tempo after Real Madrid’s second goal went in. At the half time whistle, the score line stood still at
2-0 to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
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