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02.03.2014 » Atletico 2-2 Real Madrid. Ronaldo's late goal rescues a crucial point
The Vicente Calderón hosted a high intensity derby this Sunday evening, as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid clashed in a crucial La Liga fixture that ended up with the two sides splitting points in a 2-2 draw. The Merengues kicked off the game with the right foot, thanks to an early goal from Karim Benzema, his 15th in the league this season. However, it didn't took too long for Atletico Madrid to wake up and immediately raise their aggressiveness levels. The Colchoneros turned things around still before the break, first with a goal from Koke and then with a long-range screamer from Gabi. Real Madrid got better in the second half, but they would only reach the final equalizer in the 82nd minute, after a great goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. With this draw, the Merengues keep Atletico 3 points below in the league standings, but might see Barcelona cutting the gap to a single point, if they do win tonight's game against Almeria.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Real Madrid goals and highlights video:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Atletico Madrid:
Atletico Madrid were put into check-mate in this weekend's league fixture, since a home loss against their city rivals Real Madrid would basically mean that their title hopes would get reduced to ashes. With that in mind, Diego Simeone's men didn't take this game lightly and have shown their teeth in a derby teemed with controversy. Ancelotti went into this game with the decision of lining up the BBC attacking front once again and even though they didn't managed to leave their mark as they had done in Germany against Schalke 04, the Merengues' two goals were scored by Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first goal of the game came off a well trained corner kick from Real Madrid, right on the thrid minute of the first half. Instead of crossing the ball immediately into Atletico's box, Angel Di María preferred to first pass it back to Arbeloa, just to collect it a couple seconds later and hopefully catch the hosts' defense off guard with a quick cross. That's precisely what happened, as Karim Benzema was left all alone on the far post and only had to tap the ball in into the back of the net. 0-1 for Real Madrid and what an important goal that was!
Everyone was expecting Atletico to come out into this game in their most aggressive mode and that's what we witnessed right after the visitor's opener. They would manage to reach the equalizer around the 28th minute of the game, in a play that started with a free-throw down the right wing. The magician from Turkey, Arda Turan, picked up the throw from Filipe Luís, moved the ball to the center of the pitch as he dragged Fábio Coentrão out of position and then quickly assisted Koke, who had been left unmarked on his back. The Spaniard took his time to collect the pass, aimed for the far post and struck the ball past Diego López to set things even at the Calderón.
It would still get worse for Real Madrid before half-time though, as Atletico weren't thinking about hitting the brakes just yet and managed to get in front inside the first-half's stoppage time. It all started on a set-pieces far from Real Madrid's box, but which Gabi was keen to make the best of by taking a leap of faith. The 30-year old Spanish midfielder had a first touch to set himself up in a more advantageous position and then tried his luck from more than 30-yards out. His shot got slightly deflected on Cristiano Ronaldo's head and Diego López ended up getting tricked and beaten for the second time on the afternoon. Some might argue that the former Villarreal goalkeeper could have done better in that situation, but looking at the replays, it might actually be too harsh to blame him for anything there.
Atletico had finished the first half somehow smothering Real Madrid and Ancelotti was certainly happy to have a chance to regroup his men and clean their minds for the following 45 minutes. The former AC Milan and Chelsea manager calmed his players and it seems to have paid off, as the Merengues managed to control and dominate the game throughout most of the second-half. The equalizer goal arrived around the 82nd minute of the match, and it would be Cristiano Ronaldo burying it, reaching his 23rd goal in the league this season. Carvajal managed to go down the right wing in order to put in a low cross backwards and Cristiano Ronaldo was quick to react and meet it, striking the ball into the low corner of the goal.
This 2-2 draw allows Real Madrid to assure Atletico will keep 3 points behind them in La Liga, but at the same time it will also give Barcelona an opportunity to cut distances and get themselves only one point below in the standings (if they do win this Sunday's fixture against Almeria). We'll now go through a short break in clubs' competitions, in order for a round of international fixtures across the World. Cristiano Ronaldo will join the Portugal National Team this Monday morning, to start preparing a friendly scheduled for this Wednesday and which is planned to be played in Leiria, Portugal. Real Madrid's next game will take place next Sunday (March 9), and it will be against Levante, in La Liga.
Real Madrid line-up vs Atletico Madrid:
Goalkeeper: Diego López
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Modric, Di María
Attackers: Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Atletico Madrid
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vs
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Real Madrid
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2 |
Goals |
2 |
12 |
Shots |
13 |
5 |
Shots on goal |
6 |
6 |
Corner kicks |
4 |
16 |
Fouls commited |
10 |
3 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
39% |
Ball possession |
61% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, on March 2 of 2014. You can watch Juventus live stream, Portugal vs Cameroon, Spain vs Italy, England vs Denmark and France vs Netherlands, all games provided from our sports live section.
Portugal next game:
Portugal vs Cameroon kick-off time (05-03-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 03:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 21:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 20:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 18:45
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 15:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 12:45
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 04:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / telegraph.co.uk / dailymail.co.uk / realmadrid.com
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