Fans had barely taken their seats after raising a huge gold mosaic in Cristiano's honour when Atletico took the lead 1 minute into the game through a fine finish from Fernando Torres. This goal meant Real were in need of 4 goals to make it to the next round, and they never really recovered. Though Sergio Ramos pulled one back for the Los blancos, Fernando Torres was there to pull an even quicker one again from the restart of the second half. If one was a mistake, two was clearly unforgivable.
Ronaldo scored to put the game on level terms but it was already too little, too late as the damage was already done. Coach Diego Simeone said after the match "It was hard [on them], there was a big crowd and the choreography was very pretty, but such an early goal marked the rhythm of the match. It wasn't part of the [Madrid] plan".
Maybe Real Madrid have concentrated too much on the Ballon d'Or, and it has been a distraction to Madrid's start to 2015, with back-to-back defeats in the build-up to the ceremony and now this latest disappointment. Ronaldo has been off the boil, presumably preoccupied with the individual prize, while the team have failed to find the form that saw them rack up 22 straight wins before Christmas. But now they must face reality-The awards is over! And if they are to be successful in next years edition, they've got to get back to their best.
For Atleti, meanwhile, this was a golden opportunity to show why they should not have been ignored in Monday's gala. Simeone, who missed out on the Coach of the Year award to Germany's Joachim Low, admitted the club would work harder still to try and change opinions. "It doesn't depend on us," he said on Wednesday. "So we have to accept things as they are and keep working in search of that acceptance."
Torres who recently made a move back to Atleti to revive his career was the unexpected hero. He has also returned to a team transformed. Prior to Simeone's arrival as coach, Atleti had not beaten Real since 1999 - and that included all of Fernando's first spell at the Vicente Calderon between 2000 and 2007.But under the Argentine, Atleti have now won five derbies, including three in a row before Thursday's 2-2 draw, while Torres was on the winning side on his debut last week and sealed his team's place in the last eight of the Copa del Rey with both goals on Thursday. It is quite the turnaround.
For their part, Madrid will be pleased to see the back of their city rivals for a while and Ancelotti's men - Ronaldo included - will now need to forget all about the Ballon d'Or. Atleti, however, will want to keep remembering it as they where out to prove a point.
Goals from Jeremy Mathieu, Sergi Roberto, Pedro and Adriano was enough to secure the win. Both sides made wholesale changes with Luis Enrique calling up six players from Barcelona's B team with Leo Messi rested. That saw Munir El Haddadi and Adama Traore join Pedro in Barca's front three, while Elche made nine alterations themselves. The victory ensured a quater-final meeting with Atletico Madrid.
The Catalan giants have met Atleti just once - a 3-1 victory on Sunday - since their epic clash at Camp Nou on the final day of last season. Both sides needed a win to secure the Liga title, while a draw was enough for Atleti - a scenario that became a reality after Diego Godin cancelled out Alexis Sanchez's stunning first-half strike.
The result meant Barcelona ended the season without a major trophy for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
However, Barca know that if they can overcome Atleti then they will be favourites to lift Copa del Rey for a record 27th time after holders Real Madrid were knocked out by their city rivals. It sure promises to be a mouth-watering encounter.
No comments:
Post a Comment