Liveblog: Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid

By: Steve | January 19th, 2008

Hala Madrid! Good news, Madridistas, we are all-systems-go for the liveblog for tonight’s match against Atletico! Sky Sports 1 will carry the match in the UK starting at 6pm, and since the NFL Giants game isn’t until 11pm, there’s no conflict on the boob tube. Check out Corey’s preview of the second Madrid derby of the season, before coming back here for the liveblog!

UPDATE: Ok kiddies, liveblog is in full effect. Man, how old does that make me sound? hahaha… big ups to my buddy Apollo, who’s getting hitched this May, and I have to haul ass back to Canada for the wedding. No worries. Haven’t booked my flight yet though.

This is a really important match, as Schuster said yesterday. I expect just about the best lineup he can field at the point in time, so if Pepe isn’t match-fit to start, then I expect Ramos to move into central defense and Torres to come in on the right. Guti, Gago, Robinho and Baptista should be in the midfield and of course, Ruud and Raul in attack. Let’s see how this prediction goes…

Real sit first in the table after 19 matches with 47 points, Atletico are fourth at 10 points behind. Ok, let’s get this party started!

PREGAME: Ugh, Schuster goes with Sneijder over Baptista… WHY!??! And Pepe is healthy, so he starts and Sergio Ramos on the right.
1min: GOAL!!! What a miracle start for Real! Robinho does all the hard work, stealing the ball from Pablo in the left corner, darts into the box and squares for Raul for an easy tap-in. Atletico Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid.
4min: Wow, what a difference this side looks after that disappointing midweek exit from the Copa del Rey. The passing is much quicker and players are staying on possession far better.
5min: Yellow card for Antonio Lopez for a foul on Guti.
8min: Casillas gets his first touch… on a goal kick, after Atletico mess up an attack. With guys like Forlan and Sergio Aguero, you’d expect more, but perhaps we’ll see it later.
9min: Gago is looking decent tonight. Passes on target, right weight for easy control.
10min: Real’s doing a lot of pressuring on defense, almost EPL-style… and not just the usual suspect, Raul. Our man Robinho is racing around like a jackrabbit on speed.
12min: Pepe goes to ground with a knock… the stretcher and cart even came out, and Salgado started warming up, but Pepe looks like he’s gonna tough it out for now.
14min: I was just about to say that Real’s doing well to blunt attacks by winning possesion, but they haven’t been able to build up an attack… and then Ramos threatens down the right wing and wins a corner… which is easily caught by the Atletico keeper.
15min: Pepe gets substituted for Salgado… apparently Pepe wants to come back on, but Schuster has other ideas…
16min: Hmmm, it doesn’t look like Heinze or Marcelo at leftback… so it’s Torres there.
17min: Aguero is quick, and he’s about the only one really making problems for the Real back line… well, maybe the back four themselves, but whatever…
19min: Oh! Off a broken play, Ramos crosses from the right but Robinho’s unopposed header doesn’t even come close.
20min: Man, Ruud is just hanging off Pablo’s shoulder just a tad offside… at least 3 times called for offsides…
21min: Yellow card for Miguel Torres on Maxi Rodriguez. Free kick from 20 yards… and over the crossbar.
23min: Ouch. Ramos botches a header out of the Real penalty box, but Cannavaro saves his bacon… and then on the ensuing corner, either Pablo or Simao gets called for a foul on Casillas as he tries to catch the kick.
24min: Good attack down the left by Real… Robinho has an especially nice backheel pass to an advancing Torres…
25min: Oh! Great save by Casillas, pure reflexes on Forlan who makes Salgado look like a statue.
28min: Aiya, Ruud and Robinho mis-time an attack, but the Atletico defense is looking ripe for the taking…
30min: Oh! Casillas is finally beaten by Thiago Motta’s header off Simao’s corner, but it goes off the crossbar… Real looking shakier now on defense, what else is new…
32min: Atletico is definitely attacking with more verve now… Aguero requires so much more attention that Maxi, Simao, Forlan… they all have more room to work with.
34min: Great counterattack by Real. Sneijder bursts into open space and puts a long pass onto Robinho’s feet, but the Brazilian shanks the shot.
35min: Atletico’s midfield is playing really far from their back line… You can definitely see loads of space between the back four and even the holding midfielder when Real counters…
36min: Pablo gets a yellow for fouling Robinho.
37min: Reyes starts warming up… looks like Simao has picked up a knock… and yup, a substitution.
38min: Great save by Casillas!!! Holy crap, he absolutely robs whoever took that glancing header from an Atletico free kick.
40min: Oh! I think it’s Aguero this time who gets denied by the woodwork… Atletico is really finding the holes in the Real defense, and their passing is exquisite.
41min: It’s been over 500 minutes since Casillas has conceded… Wow. Replays show that Casillas got his fingertips on Aguero’s shot.
42min: GOAL!!! Abbiati’s save on Ruud’s half-volley from Sneijder’s corner goes off the post and into the goal. Casillas would’ve saved that, heheh. Atletico Madrid 0-2 Real Madrid.
44min: To me, Atletico is definitely dominating possession, but Real is just lethal at putting away their chances. If it wasn’t for Casillas though, who knows where we’d be.
45min: Ouch, a bad offside call on Raul. He was going into the clear and got a bad whistle.
45min: 2 minutes of extra time.
45+1min: Wow, Salgado has really lost the plot. He’s terrible. I can’t imagine he’d be that much of a downgrade on Pepe, but having the old man in there really does weaken the defense, not least because he can’t seem to make a simple pass to a teammate.
45+2min: Casillas parries another Aguero shot over the crossbar…
HALFTIME: Well, Real come off a fantastic first half result, leading 2-0 on goals by Raul and Ruud.
HALFTIME: Atletico have definitely made it an entertaining match though, and I’m sure stats like time of possession and shots on target favour them, but the important thing is the scoreline.
HALFTIME: I don’t expect Real to make any changes after halftime… even my favourite whipping boy Sneijder is doing well. If anything, Torres should flip over to the right and Marcelo brought on, cuz Salgado is just balls. Balls, I say.
HALFTIME: Is Casillas playing his best-ever football right now? In spite of the general crappiness of the Real defense, he’s on 5 straight clean sheets and counting. Wow.
46min: No halftime substitutions for either side.
48min: Wow, Maxi is really having a go at Torres… the youngster has to be careful since he already has a yellow…
50min: Wow, Diego Forlan has 14 goals this season already? You wonder why Fernando Torres can do so well at Liverpool, but couldn’t ever lift Atletico out of mediocrity…
51min: A good run by Sneijder and Ruud, but the former only takes a weak shot that’s easily grabbed by Abbiati.
52min: Damn it… Sneijder gets tackled from behind and loses possession right outside the Atletico box, wasting a great effort by Robinho, taking on 2 defenders and winning that challenge…
58min: Oh! Sneijder just hits the side netting after Gago releases Robinho on the left with a LONG pass/clearing…
61min: Real’s really running hard on defense, it’s rather nice to watch…
62min: oh, and there goes Guti rolling around 10 times on the ground on a challenge… but the foul by the Atletico player gets a yellow…
63min: And now Ramos gets a yellow for pulling down Aguero after the Argentinian wunderkind bursts past… and yet another brutal free kick from Reyes. Wow, 3 straight shanks.
66min: Robinho has got his touch on today… I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to conjure up a goal tonight.
68min: Another Casillas save, this time on Forlan.
68min: Perea picks up a yellow. Man, that’s the 6th one of the night!
69min: Robinho’s pace is giving Perea fits down the left… love it when Robinho is on his game. Easily the most electrifying player to watch on Los Merengues.
70min: Thiago Motta goes off for Luis Garcia, formerly of Liverpool…
72min: Torres goes down after a Maxi challenge… Replays look bad, maybe some ankle damage… hope not though, can’t afford another injured defender!
72min: Raul gets fouled just outside the box, so there’s a Real free kick taken by Guti… and nothing happens, as Ramos is tied up trying to get into position.
73min: Guti gets booked for a stupid ass foul, assisting the ball out with his hand! Dumbass.
74min: Julio Baptista looks like he’s coming on, maybe Schuster saw that stupid move by Guti and will pull the idiot off the pitch.
77min: Yup, Guti comes off for Baptista. Unleash the Beast!
78min: Ugh, Salgado gets a yellow for manhandling Raul Garcia.
79min: Kleber Santana goes on for Maxi.
80min: Oh! Aguero weaves inside of Cannavaro, but his shot rolls outside the far post…
82min: Great chance for Robinho, who had the keeper down after a save, but his quickly-taken shot went straight to Abbiati. Raul and Sneijder also in on the play….
85min: Raul has been really impressive with his workrate… coming back REALLY deep to help out on defense and giving an extra hand…
87min: Robinho is going off for Royston Drenthe, who goes straight to the left side.
89min: The defense really is like night and day from the past few showings… the marking is better, intercepting passing lanes is better…
90min: Ugh, bad giveaway by Baptista, but he’s bailed out by the defense.
90+1min: Wow, 4 minutes of extra time…
90+2min: Great takeaway by Gago… he’s also like night and day.
90+4min: It’s almost done… The Sky Sports commentators have even called Real’s defending “resolute”. Wow, when was the last time you heard anything like that?
POSTGAME: And it’s done! Real Madrid give a commanding performance in a seemingly easy win over Atletico.
POSTGAME: Well, in contrast to all their other matches since the Christmas break, Real Madrid had this one from the start, literally, as Raul scored within 31 seconds, and after that, though Atletico threatened, the result was never in any doubt after halftime.
POSTGAME: Give Atletico some credit though, they are definitely a force to be reckoned with. If it wasn’t for Casillas, the score could’ve easily been 2-2, or even worse. Aguero is a lethal player, though a little light on his feet like Guti.
POSTGAME: Real go to a dominating 50 points, with Barcelona still to play in the late match today. They sit second at 40 points, and should they lose to Racing Santander, Los Merengues could be up by a full 10 points.
POSTGAME: The pressure is on Barcelona now to match, and with the turmoil there in the Camp Nou, who knows what could happen, even with the lineup they have. My, how the tables have turned…
POSTGAME: Anyways, let’s go to the scorecards… Casillas. What can I say? A 6th straight clean sheet in La Liga, lightning reflexes saving this and that… Maybe you could say he knows exactly what he can cover, cuz he was beaten twice, but the ball found the woodwork. Coincidence? I think not. Iker has to be on the shortlist for best keeper in the world.
POSTGAME: Sergio Ramos played a strong match, advancing less after moving into the centre when Pepe went out. Cannavaro was solid, didn’t see any mistakes, he looks like he’s almost back to full form. Pepe unfortunately picked up another knock… why do we keep getting centrebacks made of glass? First Woodgate, now him and Metzelder… Torres was serviceable on the left, clearly brought into the squad for his defense, and he had his work cut out for him with Maxi Rodriguez and Simao.
POSTGAME: Gago was surprisingly decent. A few wayward passes, but nothing egregious, and he did pick out some really good chances. Also tackled decently too. Guti was about average, and deserved his substitution. That yellow card was retarded. Sneijder, like Gago, was also surprisingly decent. Good runs, above-average passing, and it was his corner that led directly to Ruud’s goal (mixed with horrid Atletico defending). Robinho was awesome. Deserved a goal, I think, for his work tonight, he was dancing on air and caused problems all night long for the Atletico defense.
POSTGAME: Raul and Ruud? Solid. Great effort by Raul, hustling back and defending and chasing the ball around the pitch, and Ruud was giving Pablo absolute nightmares, especially on his goal. Not sure how Ruud got so free to take a kick at the corner from Sneijder, but I’m not going to complain.
POSTGAME: Salgado was horrid. There’s no other way to put it. He’s lost the confidence and the ability to make even the most simple of plays, and he’s just hacking people left, right and centre. Baptista and Drenthe didn’t really do much after coming on, but to be fair, at that point, Real were just absorbing any pressure and then pushing like crazy on the counter.
POSTGAME: Alright, well, it’s been a quiet liveblog, not many comments… too bad, you guys missed a great match! Solid performance overall, up to a 10 point lead on Barca pending their result tonight… Not too shabby! Aight, I’m out.