It appeared that Atletico Madrid were back in the track towards securing a top four spot before they went into the winter break, but their 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon against Racing Santander could easily be categorized as a slip up and two very important points dropped. They created a great flurry of activity at the end, challenging the Racing goal in some moments of desperation, but nothing came of it and they walked away with only one point.
Atletico Madrid Vs. Racing Santander: 0-0 Full Time, Atleti Slips Up In Race For Fourth
According to Opta Sports, Atletico Madrid have won only one of their last nine La Liga matches when Diego Forlan did not play. That was the case tonight, as he was stuck watching in the stands along with new signing Elias, who has not been with the club long enough to be expected to contribute. As a result of their absence, the midfield and attack of Atletico Madrid was lackluster, and they created very little.
They almost scored a garbage time winner in the 93rd minute when Diego Costa rose to meet a Fran Merida cross with his head, directing it towards the goal, but a fantastic save by Toño preserved Racing Santander’s deserved point.
Atletico Madrid are now four points behind Valencia for fourth place and will fall out of European places entirely if Getafe is able to pull an upset of Real Madrid today. Even if Getafe loses that match, they will still only be one point behind Atletico.
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