Atletico Madrid put one foot into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey by beating city rivals Real Madrid 2-0 in the first leg encounter. Raul Garcia scored from the penalty spot in the 58th minute after being hauled down by Sergio Ramos in the box, and defender Jose Gimenez came up with a header in the 76th minute to hand the bigger Madrid club a convincing defeat.
Old boy Fernando Torres started for Atletico, while Real decided to rest Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half. The best of Real’s chances fell to Gareth Bale, who even scored from a James Rodriguez free-kick, only to be denied by the offside flag.
There was a sudden increase in the tempo of the match after the first goal, but even Ronaldo’s arrival was not enough to inspire Los Blancos. They now need to overturn the result in next week’s reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernebeau.
After winning 22 consecutive matches, Real have now slumped to their second consecutive defeat.