The first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España ended in a 1-1 draw between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, with all the action happening in the final nine minutes: James Rodriguez giving the home side the opener, followed by an equalizer from Raul Garcia seven minutes later.
For now, Atletico Madrid have the lead thanks to the away goal in this encounter. There wasn’t anything surprising about the match. Atletico Madrid might be a completely different team compared to last season when you look at the long list of names that have arrived, but the style remains the same: Very tight, very disciplined, and not looking to dominate possession against the “bigger” clubs.
Real Madrid dominated possession for most of the match, but except for a few crosses to Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half hardly troubled Miguel Moya. Atletico Madrid, through counter attacks and periodic pressure on Iker Casillas, were the more dangerous team although didn’t really put Casillas under severe pressure.
Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t show up for the second half, or the match at all. He played badly, slowly and wasn’t involved. He was substituted at half time by James Rodriguez, hinting that he might be injured heading into the new season. Rodriguez wasn’t really involved or remarkable during his 45 minutes on the pitch, but brilliant players don’t need much to get things going.
Thanks to an excellent pass from Toni Kroos to Dani Caravajal, the Atletico Madrid defense lost its shape as too many players attempted to block Karim Benzema. Rodriguez noticed the scramble and the opportunity, entering into the box and quickly shooting towards the net, enjoying a lucky bounce, giving Real Madrid a lead they didn’t really deserve.
Koke immediately responded with an excellent long range shot, saved by Iker Casillas. A few minutes later Koke with a corner found Raul Garcia, showing that Atletico’s dominance in set pieces hasn’t gone away with the departure of Diego Costa, while Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo looked slow and generally bad, and their defensive problems haven’t gone away.
