adminMADRID. — Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch with a supporter trying to hug him, Gareth Bale left it knowing that once again the fingers of blame will be pointing at him after his first half miss after Diego Godin’s slip.
On a night when Atletico Madrid’s defence once again showed why it is one of the toughest to break down in Europe all three Real Madrid forwards were unable to get the better of their rivals.
Bale was often the brightest of Real’s front three, but his miss was still the clearest.
Bale will not find too much consolation in the fact that he linked well with Ronaldo in the first half. With Atletico Madrid’s left-back position still bearing a Filipe Luis-shaped hole, Bale attacked at will and he looked for Ronaldo with his crosses as the Portuguese found himself in centre-forward territory regularly throughout the first 45 minutes.
There seems little doubt the man who is fast approaching Real’s all-time goals record will finish his playing days as a central striker and he came into this game with a scoring rate of a goal every 74 minutes and seven goals in his last three matches.
Bale had scored five in his last four games. Ronaldo had hit 15 in his 20 Madrid derbies; Bale had only netted one goal against Atletico, but what a goal it was — the strike that won the Champions League final. But neither man could find the finish to give Real a vital away goal.
Both Bale and Ronaldo scored in extra-time in Lisbon and only an incredible performance from Jan Oblak prevented them from doing so in the first half.
Bale had embraced his pal Luka Modric just before kick-off and the Croatian midfielder did his best to feed him at every opportunity.
When free-kicks came Real’s way they were almost all taken by Ronaldo, although Bale was allowed to run over one — and in fairness to Ronaldo all the set-pieces were awarded on Ronaldo’s favoured left-side of the penalty area.
In the second half as Real’s momentum faded so did their deadly duo’s influence on the game.
Bale apologised to Ronaldo after one misplaced pass. He probably shouldn’t have because he would have received the ball sooner if Ronaldo had not intercepted it before he reached him.
Their understanding on the pitch still looks like it needs some working on but they will remain the biggest threat to Atletico in a week’s time.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the Tuesday night game that holders Real Madrid will need to maintain their intensity for the whole of next week’s return leg if they are to get past Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals.
Real dominated their city rivals in the first half of Tuesday’s quarter-final, first leg at Atletico’s Calderon stadium but were unable to convert a host of chances.
Spanish champions Atletico then fought back after half-time, with both sides having chances to break the deadlock before the repeat of last season’s final ended 0-0.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak was in spectacular form and Ancelotti singled out Diego Simeone’s side as “one of the best defensive teams in the world” at his post-match news conference.
“Above all in the first half we deserved more than a 0-0 but that’s the way it happened,” the Italian told reporters.
“The first half was fantastic and we played with a lot of personality,” he added.
“We did some great work going forward with some excellent movement but then we didn’t finish off the moves well enough.
“The second half was different, Atletico pressuring more and we found it harder to control possession.
“The result isn’t so good but we have confidence due to the game we played above all in the first half and for the return.
“What we have to do is try to repeat the way we played for the first 45 minutes for 90.”
Simeone said the tie remained “very open” and praised his players for the way they turned the match around following the break after being overrun in the opening period.
“We have a very intelligent group of players who knew how to react to the way things went in the first half,” Simeone told reporters.
“They (Real) are playing the second leg in front of their own fans and they will make a huge effort so we have to try and keep our heads,” added the Argentine coach. — AFP.
Online Reporter