Real Madrid suffered a late scare after being reduced to ten men, to claim an exciting victory in the Madrid derby.
Sergio Aguero started from the bench, having not recovered completely from his knock. Meanwhile, Raul started on the bench for Real Madrid.
Atletico had not beaten their rivals at the Vicente Calderon for ten years, and their nerves were evident from kick-off as Los Merengues poured forward. It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead after just five minutes, as Kaka unleashed an unstoppable shot from just outside the box, that flew into the top left hand corner.
Los Colchoneros continued to struggle to maintain any rhythm, and it was the visitors who looked the most likely to score next. Their passes were finding team-mates, in contrast to the Rojiblancos, and Marcelo compounded the home fan's frustration on 24 minutes, smashing home a right-footed shot from a tight angle, having been set up by Karim Benzema. Sergio Asenjo might have done better, but it was a ferocious effort that illustrated the difference in confidence between the two sides.
It took half an hour for Atleti to seriously threaten Iker Casillas, as a series of corners ended with Diego Forlan's shot being blocked from a tight angle. It was a mere flash in the pan though, as Madrid continued to dominate, with only Asenjo's outstretched fingers denying Benzema.
Just when it looked as though the home side would be going into the break two goals behind, Simao broke free, only to see his shot well saved by Casillas, when a pass to Forlan might have been the better option. It was a minor note of optimism in an otherwise disastrous first half for Los Colchoneros, who left the field to the sound of whistles from their own fans.
Unsurprisingly, Quique Sanchez Flores introduced Aguero at the start of the second half, taking Jose Jurado off. However, it was still the visitors making all the running, and Benzema could perhaps have done better with a header in the box, after confusion between Pablo and Asenjo allowed the ball to fall towards him. The French striker then thought he had scored just before the hour mark, but his acrobatic volley was correctly ruled out for offside.
Marcelo fires in Real Madrid's second
With 30 minutes remaining, the ineffective Jose Antonio Reyes was replaced by Maxi Rodriguez. However, it was Madrid who scored once more, with a goal that summed up Atleti's disastrous evening. Under minimal pressure from Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Perea inexplicably lost the ball, allowing 'El Pipita' to burst into the box and fire past Asenjo. That was the Argentine's last contribution, as he was subsequently replaced by Raul.
Minutes later, Atleti finally caught a break, as Sergio Ramos was sent off for taking Aguero down from behind, just outside the box, when 'El Kun' was clean through on goal. Meanwhile, on the touchline, Manuel Pellegrini was in some discomfort, having apparently been struck by something thrown from the crowd. Simao struck the resulting free-kick with power, but it flew wide of the far post.
Having been reduced to ten men, Pellegrini looked to shore things up by introducing Fernando Gago for Benzema. Cleber Santana then threatened with a rasping drive, but 'St. Iker' was equal to the task. Finally, with 12 minutes remaining, Forlan reduced the deficits after a neat finish from a cross from Tomas Ujfalusi.
It seemed like just a consolation, but seconds later, the Calderon erupted as Aguero broke free of Pepe and finished perfectly into the bottom left hand corner, to reduce the gap to just one goal. With seven minutes to go, Pellegrini decided to replace Kaka with Rafael Van der Vaart. Seconds later, it seemed as though Atleti had completed an unlikely comeback, but Simao volleyed over from five yards out. Then, Maxi thought he had brought his side level, but his finish from an Ujfalusi cross was correctly ruled out for offside.
Suddenly, Atleti were raining shots down on goal, and Forlan came close from distance. Flores then made his last change, replacing Pablo with Florent Sinama-Pongolle. As the clock touched 90 minutes, the fourth official announced that Atleti had four minutes to find an equalizer.
On 91 minutes, the entire stadium thought that Aguero had completed the comeback, but he was denied by Casillas' outstretched leg. Then, Sinama-Pongolle headed Simao's free-kick over the bar.
That proved to be the final chance of the match, as Real Madrid eventually claimed three points in what turned out to be one of the most eventful derbies in recent times.
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