Atletico 0 Real Madrid 0: Five things we learnt from the Champions League quarter-final
Diego Simeone has Carlo Ancelotti's number, Jan Oblak steps up, Raphael Varane's brilliance, Real's full-backs star and Iker Casillas rolls back the years
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Your support makes all the difference.Tuesday night's Madrid derby may have ended in a goalless draw but there was no shortage of excitement or talking points in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash at the Vicente Calderon between last season’s finalists.
There were plenty of chances in a feisty derby clash in the Spanish capital and there will be at least another 90 minutes in the return leg at the Santiago Bernebeu next Wednesday as Madrid look to edge closer to becoming the first club to retain the Champions League in its current format and Diego Simeone’s Atleti look to make amends for last season’s crushing final defeat.
Here are five things we learned from Tuesday night’s match at the Calderon.
Diego Simeone really is a problem for Carlo Ancelotti
Before the match, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said it was “an honour” to face Diego Simeone but also “a problem”. Despite the visitors’ impressive performance, Simeone and Atleti continued to be a problem for the reigning European champions with a draw that takes their unbeaten run against their city rivals to seven matches this season.
The stalemate ensured Atletico became the first side to play Madrid in seven competitive fixtures in one season and not lose one of them. A 2-1 aggregate win in the Spanish Super Cup may not have been the end of the world for Ancelotti and his men but Atleti won both derby matches in La Liga, with a resounding 4-0 victory in the last meeting in February, and ended Madrid’s defence of the Copa del Rey in convincing fashion.
Since Ancelotti and Simeone have gone head-to-head in the Spanish capital the Argentine has won five and the Italian has won three, with all three of those coming in knockout competitions and one being last season’s Champions League final. The Italian will hope that elimination success continues at the Bernabeu next Wednesday but Simeone has the edge in overall head-to-heads.
Atletico have covered the departure of Thibaut Courtois well
Atleti had to contend with some big-name departures following last season’s success and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was one of them when Chelsea recalled him from his loan stint at the Vicente Calderon. Diego Costa’s goals helped Simeone’s side to La Liga glory last term and the final of the Champions League but the Belgian’s saves at the other end were just as crucial.
Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann bolstered Atleti’s attacking options suitably and Miguel Angel Moya looked to be a shrewd acquisition when he arrived from Getafe in the summer. Moya had been Simeone’s goalkeeper of choice but Jan Oblak, who also signed in the summer for £12.8 million from Benfica, has taken advantage of the Spaniard’s unfortunate recent injury problems to make the No.1 shirt his own.
The Slovenia international helped Atleti progress through the last-16 round when his heroics helped his side to a penalty shoot-out success against Bayer Leverkusen and he was a brick wall against Madrid on Wednesday night, stopping everything that was fired at him.
The 22-year-old produced a brilliant save to deny Gareth Bale early on and that set the tone for the evening, thwarting further chances from the Welshman, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. He will need to be in top form for the return leg at the Bernabeu next Wednesday but for the moment he looks to have cemented his starting role and is starting to repay some of the big money Atleti paid for him.
Raphael Varane showed again why he is sought after
Raphael Varane has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs throughout this season and he showcased exactly why with a top-drawer performance alongside Sergio Ramos at the heart of the Madrid defence.
The young Frenchman played due to Pepe not being 100 per cent fit and therein lies the problem for the former Lens man, who wants to be playing regular first-team football – especially with Euro 2016 approaching in his home country.
The 21-year-old has not been a benchwarmer by any means this season having started 17 matches, but most of those starts have come when one of Pepe or Ramos, seemingly Ancelotti’s preferred pairing at the heart of his defence, have been unavailable. It remains to be seen whether he will be given assurances that he will replace one of them in a first-team slot next season or if his future belongs elsewhere.
His performance at the Calderon did his chances of a first-team role, or a big move to pastures new, no harm. He looked all at sea when he partnered Nacho at centre-back in Atleti’s 4-0 demolition of Madrid in the league in February but the presence of the more experienced Ramos alongside him helped this time. He was calm in intense surroundings, disciplined, won his headers and tackles and was well positioned throughout.
Varane also set-up one of Madrid’s best chances of the game when he showcased his rapid burst of speed on the counter-attack. Picking up a loose Atleti corner, he surged down the right and covered three-quarters of the pitch before sending in a cross that James Rodriguez eventually fired on target.
Madrid’s full-backs have been instrumental this season
Madrid’s embarrassment of riches in attack may usually get the headlines but their rampaging full-backs have been superb for the most part this season. Dani Carvajal, on the right, and Marcelo, on the left, have made their positions their own this season after tough competition from Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao respectively last term and both were superb at the Calderon.
Carvajal in particular took advantage of the big spaces afforded to him down the right in the first half, linking superbly with Bale and Luka Modric to cause the hosts all kinds of problems. He was solid defensively, too, keeping Guilherme Siqueira in check when he made moves forward, although he was lucky to finish the match after a punch on Mario Mandzukic went unnoticed by the officials.
On the other side Marcelo hugged the left touchline and added plenty of width to Madrid’s play, as he has done all season. It enabled Ancelotti’s side to stretch Atleti’s usually compact midfield and carve out plenty of chances. Some of them came from the Brazilian, who produced arguably the move of the match in the second half when he wriggled free of two markers before pulling the ball back for Karim Benzema only to see the opportunity go to waste.
Carvajal will face stiff competition from incoming Porto full-back Danilo next season but he showed he is up for the challenge. Marcelo collected a yellow card that rules him out of the return leg and that will be a big blow for the holders. Fabio Coentrao is expected to plug the gap.
Iker Casillas is not done just yet
The knives have been out for Iker Casillas recently, even from his own supporters who have whistled him this season at the Bernabeu after what they perceived to be sub-standard performances, but the Madrid legend is not giving up his starting role without a fight.
The 33-year-old, born in the Madrid town of Mostoles and who came through the club’s youth set-up, surpassed Xavi’s Champions League appearance record with his 147th match in the competition last night and he celebrated it by keeping a clean sheet and making some key saves on ‘International Goalkeeper Day’.
Casillas, who has won the competition three times, picked the ball out of the back of the net four times in the league encounter earlier this season but he did not face the same pressure on Tuesday night. Still, he made a good low save to deny Antoine Griezmann in the first half and thwarted Mario Suarez late on. He was confident from crosses throughout and did not give Simeone’s side an inch.
The future of the Spain international is still up in the air, with David de Gea continuing to be linked with a move to the Bernabeu, but he is under contract at Madrid until 2017 and shows no signs of wanting to move on. However, ending this season with a fourth Champions League success could be the ideal opportunity to finish his Madrid career on a high, especially with some of the criticism that has somewhat damaged his reputation in recent seasons.
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