This Saturday's derby in Madrid ended up with another 1-2 victory for José Mourinho's men, leaving Atletico Madrid 6 points behind in La Liga. With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of this game due to an injury, the Merengues relied mostly on Angel Di María's talent to overcome their opponents and secure the 3 points in theVicente Calderón. The next challenge goes by the name of Borussia Dortmund and Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be back to the line-up.
It's not that a 2-1 result next Tuesday will be enough to send Real Madrid through into the Champions League final, but at least this Saturday win against Atletico Madridshowed the Madridismo that this team might have the spirit and belief needed to turn things around against Borussia Dortmund. Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to give his contribution in the Vicente Calderón due to a muscle problem on his left thigh, but that didn't prevent José Mourinho from seizing the chance to still rotate a few other key players in team. It all worked out quite well though and thanks to a great performance from Di María, the Merengues came off with a precious 1-2 win that pretty much settles the discussion for the 2nd place battle in La Liga. Next Tuesday, the Merengues will have the most important game of the season until now, in a easily predictable thrilling Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund game, for the Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg. Cristiano Ronaldo will surely not miss it for anything in the world, even though he's still struggling with a small muscular problem...
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid goals and highlights:
Atletico Madrid had high hopes for this game, as not only it represented a golden chance to close the gap to Real Madrid in La Liga (both teams were 3 points apart ahead of this match), but also because they haven't been able to beat their biggest rivals since 1999! Moreover, the two teams will still face each other for a 3rd time this season in the Copa del Rey final scheduled for May 17, and getting the three points this Saturday would surely lift the spirit and give them the psychological edge they were looking for. Fortunately, tradition seems to still weigh in this Madrid derby and the Merengues once again came on top at the end...
The Colchoneros got the better start and found themselves on the lead, still inside the first 5 minutes of the game. The home side earned a free-kick quite far from Real Madrid's area, but Diego López ended up strugging to keep the ball away as it bounced just a few inches in front of him. The former Villarreal goalkeeper managed to push the ball a few meters to his left side, but Godín was quick to react and put in a cross to the far post, where Radamel Falcao was left with the easy task of heading it towards an empty net. 1-0 for Diego Simeone's men and without Ronaldo on the pitch, the Merengues fans were certainly fearing the worst...
Sometimes all your team needs to pull it together is a bit of luck in the right moments and Real Madrid can't complain about it, at least judging by the chain of events in the Vicente Calderón. Roughly six minutes after Falcao's opener, the Merenguesresponded with the equalizer, in a similar free-kick to the one that had already originated the first goal in the game. Angel Di María crossed the ball into the heart of the area and saw it being deflected on Juanfran's body and just before getting pastCurtois, who simply couldn't have done much more to stop it. José Mourinho knew the importance of the timing of that goal to hold Atletico Madrid's momentum and he surely didn't mind his team hadn't done enough to deserve it at that point...
No more goals were to be scored in the first half and knowing the draw would be of more interest to Real Madrid rather than Atletico, one would expect for theColchoneros to come guns blazing after the break. However, it would be José Mourinho's men who would score the 2nd goal and complete the "remontada", after a good combination between Karim Benzema and Angel Di María, with theArgentinian finishing it as any top striker would do, through a strong left-foot shot to the goalkeeper's far post.
Atletico Madrid didn't manage to upset Real Madrid anymore and with this win, theMerengues basically secure the 2nd place in the Spanish League, leaving theColchoneros 6 points behind. Everyone will now turn their attention to next Tuesday'sReal Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund match and with Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the line-up as he is expected to do, the Madridismo still strongly believes that it will be possible to comeback from that 1st leg's 4-1 loss.
Real Madrid line-up vs Atletico Madrid:
Goalkeeper: Diego López
Defenders: Nacho, Ricardo Carvalho, Raul Albiol, Essien
Midfielders: Pepe, Khedira, Kaká
Attackers: Di María, Benzema and Morata
Atletico Madrid | vs | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
1 | Goals | 2 |
11 | Shots | 6 |
4 | Shots on goal | 5 |
2 | Corner kicks | 2 |
17 | Fouls commited | 15 |
4 | Yellow cards | 4 |
0 | Red cards | 0 |
53% | Ball possession | 47% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Borussia Dortmundfor the Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg, on April 30, 2013. You can watch Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona vs Bayern Munich, Arsenal vs Manchester United and Chelsea vs Swansea, all matches provided from our soccer free streaming section.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund kick-off time (30-04-2013):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 16:45
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 15:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7: 12:45
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 03:45
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