Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

There are hardly, if any, football matches bigger than a Madrid derby in the biggest club competition in the world. Last year’s finalists, Atletico Madrid, played host to the defending champions, Real Madrid, in the quarter-final of the Champions League.Having been 90 seconds from winning the Champions League, Atletico ran out of fuel last year to end up losing 4-1 to their arch-rivals Real Madrid. So, this tie provided the La Liga winners to take revenge on the 10-times Champions League winners and gave Real the chance to end their Vicente Calderon hoodoo.In a highly contested match at the Vicente Calderon, the two sides were forced to settle for a goalless draw. Despite the lack of goals, there was no lack of action in the match. Both, Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti would be happy with the result. The tie would now be settled at the Santiago Bernabeu in 8 days.Here are the major talking points from the match:

#1 Raphael Varane steps up

Raphael Varane is hailed as one of the most promising center backs in world football and tonight, playing in place of Pepe, he showed why. The youngster not only supported the experienced Sergio Ramos, but outshone him by putting in a solid, commanding display at the back.

Despite Real having the ball for the majority of the match, the Frenchman did extremely well when called upon. He frustrated Mario Mandzukic by marking him out of the game and not giving the Croatian a sniff of goal.

The star moment for Varane, however, came with the ball. The 21-year-old took the ball in his own half and despite giving Gabi a 10-yard headstart, outpaced him to set up a counter attack for his side. Unfortunately, the move did not result in a goal, but the football world took a notice of the pace which he possesses.

He was, arguably, Real Madrid’s best player of the match.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo fails to have any impact in the game

All eyes before the start of the match were on the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, on the night, the Portuguese, cut a sorry figure for Los Blancos.

The only times when Ronaldo looked like threatening was on free kicks. But, Atletico goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, parried his set-pieces with ease and did not let the Real Madrid winger get his 50^th goal of the season.

Ronaldo’s frustration became evident in the second half when he tried an audacious attempt at goal, but failed miserably as his miscued shot timidly went out for a goal kick. It looked like the 30-year-old was willing to just wait for the ball to arrive at his feet, rather than track back and help his teammates win the ball to set up a move.

Fellow attackers, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, did not cover themselves in glory either. The Frenchman was almost invisible for the entire match, while Bale missed a glorious chance to put the away side ahead and give them a crucial away goal.

#3 Team talk works wonders for Atleti

The home side’s game is all about pressing high up the pitch, playing a physical game and working as a team. In the first half, however, Atletico did not do a single thing which is seen regularly at the Vicente Calderon.

They gave Real too much space, did not heckle the men in white nor did they push high up in the pitch to prevent the defending Champions League winners from building from the back. The tempo they played at was so slow, fans could have been forgiven for thinking their team had played a high-intensity match less than a day ago.

However, whatever Diego Simeone said in the half-time team talk worked and the La Liga champions came out a different side. The intensity and tempo was back in their game as they managed to put the Madrid backline, which was previously untested, under pressure. Tackles started flying in the second 45 minutes as they broke Real’s fluidity time and again.

Simeone would do well to ensure he gives the same team talk before the return leg at the Bernabeu if they want to progress to the next round.

#4 Great wall of Atletico

Atletico Madrid do not concede many goals and that is down to the well-drilled defence they have. In the first leg, it was quite evident that their game plan was to not concede and, if possible, try to score on the counter-attack.

Diego Godin, Juanfran, Miranda and Guilherme Siqueira combined brilliantly to restrict the Madrid attackers to just 1 clear opportunity in the entire game. Gabi and Mario Suarez shielded the defence well, but it was goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who should be credited for the clean sheet.

Oblak made a brilliant save early in the game off Bale, when the Welshman was through on goal, but the Slovenian was equal to the task and prevented Atletico from going a goal down. The other attempts were mainly from distance, but Oblak, time and again, proved to be an immovable object in the Atleti goal.

#5 Mario Mandzukic vs the Real Madrid defence

In the first half, Mandzukic was involved in a coming together with full back Dani Carvajal. While marking him, the Madrid defender stealthily moved in front of him and punched the Croat on the chest. It’s fair to say that if the incident was seen by the referee, it would have resulted in a sending off for the Spaniard.

At the start of the second half, the Atletico striker required medical attention after an incident which went unseen by the referee and the linesman. Upon viewing the replay, it was clear that he was caught by a flailing elbow by Sergio Ramos. The incident resulted in a cut on the Mandzukic’s face, which left him bloodied and required him to change his jersey.

However, he was not a saint throughout the match either. Mandzukic kept on harassing the away team’s defenders by constantly pushing them and tugging their jerseys. He was booked in the second half and could have got another yellow for committing multiple fouls. Simeone, however, saw what could happen and subbed him off for Fernando Torres in the 82^nd minute.

Keep an eye out on this battle in the second leg.