Bale fluffs his lines in Madrid
ATLETICO MADRID 0 REAL MADRID 0
CORAJE y Corazon, read the banners on display at the Vicente Calderon. Courage and heart, it means. Atletico Madrid had plenty of both. What they didn’t have was a way of matching Real Madrid.
They got away with it, truth be told. A combination of poor finishing, not least from Gareth Bale, and an exemplary display from goalkeeper Jan Oblak kept the scores level, but if Real play like this at the Bernabeu a week today, they are likelier to progress.
They ran out of steam in the second half, but had by far the best of the first when Oblak made a serious of excellent saves from mid-range pots.
This being a glorified La Liga game, though, the shots were rarely aimless. Madrid try to pass the ball into the net even from 25 yards, and the technical levels on display were quite magnificent.
By half-time, Toni Kroos had attempted 33 passes and failed with one. Considering the speed of the game, it was an astonishing achievement. Time to think was at a premium, the ball arrived and if its next destination wasn’t already known, the man in possession was nailed. A few got caught out.
Kroos was sublime. As space opened up in the later stages, Arda Turan made a run that would have matched that of Ricky Villa at Wembley, had it come off.
It says something of Real’s dominance that Atletico had to wait until the 48th minute for their first attack of note. Juanfran got forward and his cross was met by Turan, ghosting in for a glancing header. Soon after, Sergio Ramos caught Mario Mandzukic with an elbow — accidentally it seemed — and Atletico lost their way.
Mandzukic shed blood for the cause but was plainly unhappy about it and, patched up, returned to the field with a grudge the size of a baby elephant. He flung an arm into Ramos — spotted, and booked — then copped an off-the-ball clout from Dani Carvajal, not spotted, lucky boy.
Mandzukic was equally fortunate when he tried to get his own back a nd Fernando Torres was instructed to warm up. With all that wonderful talent on display, how ironic was it that the hero of the first half turned out to be a former resident of Skofja Loka, a small medieval town in Slovenia.
There are considerably more famous names in the Champions League quarter-finals than Oblak, but the Atletico goalkeeper kept his team in the game.
A quarter of the game gone, Atletico had recorded less than 30per-cent possession. They couldn’t get the ball off Real and, when they did, could do little with it.
Their chances came either from the odd defensive error — Ramos giving the ball straight to Antoine Griezmann — or from set-pieces. Diego Godin always l ooked dangerous at those moments, but Iker Casillas’s handling was comfortable.
Oblak was exceptional, making six proper saves before half-time as Real looked to reverse a dismal run of form against their city rivals this season.
Real won the big one between these teams — the 2014 Champions League final — but since then embarrassment has heaped on humiliation. They have played six times, across various league and cup competitions, and Real are yet to win.
Maybe that explained the urgency about Real, who burst from the blocks and could have been two up inside three minutes. Early pressure ended with a low shot from Carvajal which Oblak saved, before a midfield slip sent Bale clear for what should have been the game’s first goal.
Chances are not easy to mine against Atletico, the fight and organisation of Diego Simeone’s side a twin strength, but this caught them on the hop. Bale had only Oblak to beat but finished in disappointing fashion and the goalkeeper beat out his shot.
Last night those monitoring the Welsh star’s troubled progress at Real were getting a reminder of the havoc he can wreak.
Atletico were stretched by the movement of Real’s forwards, with James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo switching, swooping, darting i nto space and never giving them a moment’s rest.
Behind, the inventive minds of Luka Modric and Kroos sought openings. In the 31st minute, they nearly found a way. It came from an understanding honed on the Tottenham t r aining ground. Modric teed up Bale and the Welshman struck a shot which pitched in front of Oblak, forcing a hurried parry.
Soon after James sized up an opportunity with his l eft and curled it around a mass of players before Oblak plucked it from the air, having seen it late.
When Real were not exploring the gaps, they were counterattacking with pace and purpose. One such move, in the 39th minute, involved James, Ronaldo, Marcelo and finally Modric, who snatched at his shot and sent it flying over.
Time for one last first-half save. The impressive Raphael Varane sped down the field some 60 yards and slipped the ball to Karim Benzema. He found James, who forced a fine one-handed save from Oblak, proving with every save that it’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.