Superb Madrid derby, Yaya leads City, hope for Milan, more... Now this is what you call a derby. After years of playing second banana to the blue bloods from the Bernabeu, Atletico Madrid took to the pitch with the kind of determination that their manager, Diego Simeone, oozed from every pore in his playing days. (Yeah, I know it’s a cliche, but if theres one relationship that epitomizes this, its the one between El Cholo and his crew.) We got 94 minutes of entertainment and drama: Real Madrid taking the lead because Karim Benzema got his timing right; Atletico responding with red and white fury, pushing the visitors back, back, back. Atletico snatched the equalizer when the bearded genius Arda Turan played his Jedi mind trick to befuddle Fabio Coentrao and then set up Koke, who smashed it past Diego Lopez. Galvanized, they pushed on and took the lead just before halftime with the unlikeliest goal scorer: Gabi, who had found the net just once in the previous 18 months. He shot from distance, the ball hissing past a knot of players and eluding the unsighted (but probably slow-reacting) Lopez. - Hunter: High stakes, high entertainment - Train: Ronaldo to Reals rescue - Report: Real ties Atletico 2-2 - Story: Ancelotti upset with violent Atleti - FC TV: Sizing up the Liga title race Atletico knew what was coming after the break. Carlo Ancelotti would change his fullbacks (and he did), replacing the more defensive Alvaro Arbeloa and Coentrao for marauders Dani Carvajal and Marcelo. The question would be whether Atletico could maintain the intensity and furious pace of the first 45 minutes that had kept the visitors tentative. The answer? To a point. Atletico have six players who had already played 3,000 minutes of competitive football this season; Real just one. As the second half wore on, the home team wore down. And Ancelottis men grew, creating chances and forcing Thibaut Courtois to show just why hes the best keeper in La Liga. Eventually, Cristiano Ronaldo -- who else? -- sealed the 2-2 draw. Recriminations? Atletico will have a few. Like when Sergio Ramos tackled Diego Costa and the referee waved play on. Or when Costa, again, skipped past Arbeloa, went down and was booked for diving. There probably was contact, though to be fair there were a couple of other occasions when Costa probably merited a caution for simulation. Either way, given the nervy nature of this game, the pounding rain, the overheated Calderon -- well, if youre ever likely to give a referee a pass, this was it. We’re still alive, Simeone said after the game. Hes right. The Colchoneros are three points behind Real, two behind Barcelona. A draw when these two meet in the Bernabeu in a couple of weeks, a slip-up somewhere, and Atletico are right back in it. Still, it was Ancelotti who could consider himself the happier. This was a trap game in tough conditions. The two points Atletico left behind are, in this context, as important as the one point Real gained. Their undefeated streak is now up to 28 games and there were no significant injuries. And perhaps most importantly, they know they can do better. Yaya steps up for Man City One side effect of Manchester City winning the League Cup is that we wont have to keep hearing how the Chilean has never won a trophy in Europe. (Or worse, when folks ignorantly say he didnt win anything at all, as if he picked up those titles with San Lorenzo and River Plate on eBay.) Its not to be underestimated. Winning your first piece of silverware with a new club can lift a psychological block, the very same block which -- coupled with Sunderlands tremendous first-half performance -- seemed to stunt Citys progress at Wembley on Sunday. - Delaney: Citys class wins the day - Curtis: Trophy ushers in New City era - Yaya Toure: My best-ever goal - Mooney: Javi Garcias cameo proves his worth Fabio Borini had shown enough muscle to withstand Vincent Kompanys challenge and give Sunderland the lead. City had shown few ideas and even less initiative for the first 55 minutes. And then, to shoo away the fear, came that most classic of
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 18:54:04 +0000
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