Real Madrid Advance to Champions League Semi-Finals after Victory over Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid have advanced to the Champions League Semi-Finals after defeating a ten men Atletico Madrid. After drawing the first leg 0-0, this match looked set to head to at the minimum extra time. However, Atletico went down to ten men with fifteen minutes remaining.
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Dominating possession for most of that time, Javier Hernandez — who had numerous scoring opportunities in the match — was able to find the back of the net off a great pass from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both rivals came into the match feeling they had the chance to advance to the Champions League Semi-Finals. While Real Madrid were looking for a chance to win back-to-back Champions League titles, Atletico were looking to avenge their heartbreaking loss against their rivals last year.
While Atletico had dominated the rivalry this season — having not lost to Real and winning four of six against their derby rival — Real had played a very good first leg. Using their attack to smother Atletico and not allowing their rivals much in the way of offense.
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Unlike that first match, the first half was evenly played. Though no scoring occurred, the half played very openly with both sides receiving chances. Thanks to neither side finding the back of the net and the physical play from both the action was some of the most intense ever played between the clubs.
While Cristiano Ronaldo had the best chance of the first half, forward Javier Hernandez was easily the most active. While the Mexican found holes in the Atletico defense, his finishing failed him early on as he missed out on countless headers and strikes.
One of the match’s better chances came early in the second half when Real Madrid midfielder Isco found a streaking Hernandez in the Atletico penalty area. The Mexican’s form once again failed him as he missed the point blank effort wide of the net.
With fifteen fouls in the first half, the match proved to be a very physical affair. While Hernandez went down several times in the penalty area — some that may have warranted a penalty — referee Felix Brych refused to grant Hernandez a penalty.
From the start of the second half, Real Madrid looked to take control. While Atletico tried to play a possession based game, almost every attempt to enter the Real Madrid third resulted in a turnover and quick counter attack from Los Blancos.
While Real continued to attack quickly with crosses and long balls, Atletico’s defense refused to break. Attack after attack from Real were stuffed by Atletico with very few balls actually testing goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Though most of the second half was played in Atletico’s end, Rojiblancos did manage a few pressing moments; most of which resulted in easy saves for Iker Casillas.
Atletico best chance of the match came from Chelsea target Koke. Unfortunately for the Atletico, Koke flicked a very good cross directly at the keeper ending the attack. Had the Spaniard headed the ball to either side of the target, Atletico would most likely have had a 1-0 lead.
The biggest moment of the match came when Arda Turan received his second yellow card after a foul on Sergio Ramos. It was a reckless challenge as the Turkish international led studs up against Ramos as the Real Madrid defender attempted a clear the ball.
Dropping to ten men, Real continued their fast paced attack while also taking much more possession of the ball. Every touch from Diego Simone’s men was greeted by a Real Madrid player waiting to take back possession.
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Prior to his late goal, Hernandez had missed another golden chance. After managing to get through a rough tackle, Hernandez was free in the penalty area but would once again miss his shot wide of the net after a tip from Oblak.
The outstanding play from Oblak coupled with a great defensive effort from the rest of the side kept the clubs deadlocked at zero with many fans expecting the match to head to extra time.
However, the resistance would not and could not last for the entirety of the match. A nice one-two from Ronaldo and James Rodriguez in the 88th minute set up Hernandez in the penalty area. A perfect pass from a falling Ronaldo gave Hernandez an easy goal and Real Madrid a 1-0 lead.
A lead the side would not relinquish. Atletico’s frustrations would boil over late on with many accusing Real Madrid of time wasting. Though the sides would play an additional five minutes of injury time, every Atletico attack was quickly cleared by the now defensive minded Real.
Real now advance to the Champions League Semi-Final where they join possibly the strongest contender list in recent memory. Madrid as well as their La Liga rival Barcelona, German Giants Bayern Munich and Italian Serie-A leader Juventus all sit with a chance at European glory.