26 February 2007, by Sean Gillen

Madrid derby: Dominant Atletico let Real off the hook

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid were left to rue a missed opportunity after their city rivals escaped from the Vicente Calderon with a scarcely deserved draw to keep the three-point gap between the sides.

A victory would have seen Atletico move ahead of their bitter rivals into fourth place, but Gonzalo Higuain cancelled out Fernando Torres’ first half strike to earn Real a point, in a match largely dominated by the hosts.

Atletico started the game brilliantly, with some bright incisive passing proving difficult for the Real defence to handle, and they took the lead after just ten minutes through influential captain Torres.

The local hero scored his first goal in a Madrid derby after he played in Martin Galletti down the right flank, and the Argentine returned the ball to Torres on the edge of the area for the 22-year-old to take one touch and hammer the ball beyond Casillas and into the bottom corner.

Atletico should have seen their lead doubled just four minutes later, but a goal from defender Luis Perea was wrongly disallowed. The linesman ruled out the Colombian’s effort for offside, but replays showed that the decision was incorrect.

Real Madrid’s first real chance arrived when Emerson slid the ball through the inside right channel to give Higuain a sight of goal, but Atletico goalkeeper Leo Franco got his angles right and denied the 19-year-old with a comfortable block.

Busy Maniche

Atletico swarmed all over their opponents, with midfielders Maniche and Peter Luccin denying them space to play their game and keeping the ball with expert precision.

Casillas kept Real in the match five minutes before the break when he denied Galletti with a superb reaction save, before Real had a chance to level when the ball broke for Cannavaro inside the box, but Franco got down well to make the save.

After last week’s poor defensive showing at Sevilla, it was no surprise to see Atletico recall Portuguese defender Ze Castro to the starting line-up for the derby, but the 23-year-old may feel he could have done better with Real’s equaliser in the 61st minute.

Higuain’s clever run saw him latch onto a Cassano throughball, and the young Argentine outmuscled Ze Castro before coolly lifting the ball over the advancing Leo Franco to give his side an undeserved equaliser.

Atletico’s tempo dropped for a period after the goal, and the match was evenly contested for spell. However, the Vicente Calderon crowd roared their team on to hunt for a precious winner in the closing stages.

The equalising goal did not appear to improve Real’s play much and the more glamorous Madrid side appeared content to stop the play and wind the clock down. Casillas was again called upon to deny substitute Mista, before making a crucial late save from Aguero.

Cannavaro was sent off for two yellows late on, although Atletico felt that he should have been given his marching orders long before his 82nd minute dismissal. Real escaped with a point, while Atletico will feel disappointed to have let their rivals off the hook after an outstanding team performance.

Javier Aguirre (Atletico Madrid manager)

“Atletico played very well but luck and referees don’t go very well with me. We played very good football, we were superior the entire match, and in the end we paid for our mistakes.”

“I’m satisfied with what I saw today. If we’re capable of staying this course, then we’ll qualify for Europe. The fans have to keep on supporting us and we’ll give them something to cheer about with regards to Europe very soon.”

Fabio Capello (Real Madrid manager)

“In the first half we didn’t have many chances, but Atletico are in good condition in general. It’s always hard for us to play a Champions League match before, but I’m happy with my players.”

“To me it’s a fair result. The truth is that we suffered in the first 20 minutes. I assess the draw as positive because this is a difficult pitch. Atletico played well, they tightened up a lot and when we had the ball we lost it quickly.”

Atletico Madrid:
Leo Franco; Seitaridis, Perea, Zé Castro, Antonio Lopez; Luccin, Maniche, Galletti (Mista 71), Jurado; Agüero and Fernando Torres
Yellow Cards: Luccin (41) Galletti (60)

Real Madrid:
Casillas; Michel Salgado, Cannavaro, Helguera, Miguel Torres; Emerson, Gago (Diarra 53), Guti (Marcelo 77), Reyes (Cassano 45); Raul and Higuain
Yellow Cards: Cannavaro (14, 82), Cassano (47), Torres (49), Guti (53), Diarra (84), Casillas (90)
Red Cards: Cannavaro (82)

Goals:
[1-0] Fernando Torres, 10
[1-1] Higuain, 61