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Never doubt Real Madrid
It was a chilly night in the capital, but the Copa del Rey match between fierce city rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid was certainly very hot. From the moment a ball was kicked Rojiblanco put on a dogged display of counter attacking football and were rewarded with a goal after some beautiful build up play. It was former Real Madrid player Alvaro Morata who received the honor and you could tell by his celebration that he enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, what looked like the build-up to a historic win for the visitors began to unravel in the second half. The first warning sign came when another Brazilian starlet, Rodrigo, leveled the score with an outrageous solo run. At that point, it was clear that Madrid was in the ascendancy, But it was Atleti who compounded their problems with relegation. Already on yellow card, Vinicius Jr., following a cynical challenge on the veteran defender StefanSavic decided to hack down Camavinga. Of course, the referee wasted no time in giving the Montenegrin his marching orders and just like that, They were 10 men below. All the visitors could do at that point, was to minimize the dangers as they headed for extra time. Once there, you could see where things were going as Rojiblanco began to tire.
Indeed, it was no surprise when the Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema, slotted into the quietest home.. Indeed, by the time Vinicius Junior contributed a superb third goal, the visiting team had already spent and the semi-final spot was secured. Although some would argue that Atleti were unlucky to be reduced to 10, the truth is that while they could not limit Madrid, they were never able to impose themselves on their opponents. Once again, Madrid showed why it’s never a good idea to count them out.
With that, we’d like to wish you a good night from all of us here at AS USA and thank you for joining us for our live coverage of Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. Good night!
