The ‘derbi’ at Vicente Calderon Stadium was shown as one of the most even matches in the last seasons. But it wasn’t, and nobody knows if it could’ve been like that whether Gonzalez Vazquez hadn’t expulsed Antonio Lopez six minutes after the match started. The penalty that Antonio committed over Raúl and his rigorous expulsion marked a game that finished with a comfortable victory of Real Madrid 3-0.

Many fans hadn’t got yet to their sits when Ronaldo scored the first goal from the penalty point. The red card injured the red-and-white left side, zone that occupied one of the most active Atletico’s player in the match, Martin Petrov, who had double work and the rest of the game accused it. The ‘colchoneros’ reduced in their lines, tried to look for chances in offense with more heart than head and without finding their place in the match, while Real Madrid was self-confident with the advantage at the score and the mathematical superiority.

One of the principal goals of Real Madrid defense was to trouble Fernando Torres, and that way Pablo Garcia and Sergio Ramos understood it: Both were busy pressing and making life impossible to the player from Fuenlabrada who, nonetheless, got a danger chance hurling the ball at Casillas’ right side through a personal play.

In the second half the same thing happened, Atletico without fluency, wasn’t managing reaching with clarity the area of Real Madrid, and as well, the whites played in favour of the score and trusting the options in offense to Ronaldo’s lethal fast break. At that time Luxemburgo put Guti to play, who brought fresh ideas to the midfield. That way the second goal came, when the bench player put a ball to Ronaldo that sent to the bottom of the net. Although the second goal, Atletico refused to lower definitively their arms, and Torres still tested Casillas with a shot from out of the area that the goalkeeper sent to corner. The same actors met their faces not much later, when the red-and-white forward stood firm in front of the goal leading a spectacular offense by the left side, but Real Madrid’s goalkeeper covered well his goal and saved the shot.

Not much more we watch till the end of the match, except the last goal, when Perea trying to avoid Ronaldo's shot scored the third in his own goal.


Photo: J. A. Sirvent