Atletico 2 Real Madrid 1 - Ronaldo scores but is shown red

Posted by Andy Booth on 05/17/13
Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid suffered an agonoising defeat in the Copa del Rey final against arch nemesis Atletico Madrid as they went down by two goals to one after extra time.

The game started at a blistering pace as is usually the case in Madrid derbies, and with the match being played at the Bernabeu, the odds were stacked against Atletico who were by far and away the underdogs. Cristiano Ronaldo was unsurprisingly the centre of attention and posed the biggest threat to Atletico. This was illustrated in the 14th minute when he rose to emphatically head beyond Courtois to give Real the lead.

Atletico Madrid were not just there to make up the numbers and they reacted positively to going behind. Colombian Radamel Falcao created space and unleashed a devastating through-ball to Diego Costa who struck precisely from an angle to put Atletico on level terms in the 35th minute.

The second half was more cagey as both sides defended with great discipline. The game got more heated as it went on as several cards were brandished. Neither side could establish a lead after the full 90, so the game went into extra time.

Disaster struck for Real Madrid when Miranda met Costa's cross to give Atletico a shock lead in the 99th minute. Real Madrid did their best to mount a come back but instead were thwarted by a stubborn Atletico defense. In the 114th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo was adjudged to have kicked out, an incident reminiscent of David Beckham's kick on now Atletico boss Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup. The referee didn't hesitate to send Cristiano off even though contact appeared minimal.

Real Madrid will find the result extremely difficult to take as they end the current campaign without


silverware.