Atletico close in on Champions League spot with 1-0 Real win
Send a link to a friend
[May 09, 2022] MADRID
(Reuters) -A first-half penalty by Yannick Carrasco earned Atletico
Madrid a 1-0 victory in a fiery derby clash against champions Real
Madrid on Sunday, as the hosts tightened their grip on a place in
next season's Champions League.
Diego Simeone's side remain fourth in the standings on 64 points,
six clear of Real Betis in fifth, and with three games left to play
they edged closer to a top-four finish, to qualify for Europe's top
club competition.
"Everyone will compete to reach the goal, but it is a strong and
decisive step," Simeone told Movistar.
"We know what this game is like, it's a game of strength and whoever
doesn't have it has to lose."
Atletico, who welcomed the newly crowned LaLiga champions to the
Wanda Metropolitano without the traditional guard of honour, came
out pressing high as Angel Correa and Carrasco had two great chances
to open the scoring within the first ten minutes.
Carrasco put the hosts ahead in the 40th minute, after the referee
changed his initial decision and a penalty was awarded to Atletico
following a VAR review for a foul on Matheus Cunha.
The midfielder calmly lashed the ball past goalkeeper Andriy Lunin,
as the 23-year-old Ukrainian made his LaLiga debut for Real Madrid
almost four years after he had signed for the club.
The goal sparked Carlo Ancelotti's side into life, despite several
players being rested after Real clinched their 35th league title
last weekend, and some powerful shots threatened goalkeeper Jan
Oblak's goal before halftime.
The Slovenia international pulled off another great save to deny
Casemiro in the 59th minute and Federico Valverde 10 minutes later.
Atletico substitute Antoine Griezmann, meanwhile, troubled Real
keeper with some splendid shots, and Carrasco hit the left post.
[to top of second column] |
Atletico Madrid's Yannick Carrasco in action with Real Madrid's
Lucas Vazquez REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Minutes before fulltime, Oblak kept out Marco
Asensio's attempt to equalise with a low free-kick effort from
outside of the box, as the hosts grabbed their first Madrid derby
win since 2015.
"It was a good game, competitive, evenly matched," Ancelotti said.
"We couldn't ask for much more from this match, which comes after a
very exciting week. I really didn't expect more."
Usually, the opposition applaud the newly-crowned champions onto the
pitch by lining up either side of them before kickoff but manager
Diego Simeone said Atletico chose not to give Real players the guard
of honour on Sunday out of respect for their own fans.
Barcelona, however, gave Real Betis players a guard of honour on
Saturday to mark their Copa del Rey victory last month.
Atletico next travel to Elche on Wednesday, following which they
have a tough run-in with games against third-placed Sevilla and
sixth-placed Real Sociedad.
Real, who lost only four LaLiga games this season, host
relegation-threatened Levante on Thursday.
(Reporting by Anita KobylinskaEditing by Christian Radnedge)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|