Defending champions Real Madrid have been bounced out of Copa del Rey early, with local rivals Atlético Madrid doing the honors on Thursday. Atléti won the home leg, 2-0, then snatched a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu to advance past Los Merengues on aggregate.
3 things from Atlético Madrid’s 2-2 draw to down Real Madrid in Copa del Rey
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Fernando Torres was handed a start and stunned Real Madrid with a goal just a minute into the match. Pepe misplayed a pass to Antoine Griezmann he should have cut out, instead helping Griezmann in on goal. The Frenchman crossed for Torres, who was waiting at the back post and hit a shot into the roof of the net.
The home side pulled level in the 20th minute, thanks to a brilliant free kick by Toni Kroos and a header by Sergio Ramos. Kroos' free kick evaded everyone and sailed to the back post, where Ramos rose up to place a header past Jan Oblak.
That goal sent the teams into halftime deadlocked, but shockingly, Torres matched his earlier feat in the second half as well. The Real Madrid defense fell apart on a counter by Atléti in the first minute of the half yet again, and Torres completed a brace.
Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a goal back in the 54th minute off a cross by Gareth Bale, but it would be the last truly great chance for Real for the rest of the match. They were well on top until the end and had the ball around Atléti's box constantly, but the Rojiblancos held on to their aggregate lead fairly comfortably.
Real Madrid: Navas, Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe (Varane 59’), Carvajal, Isco, Kroos, James (Jese 72’), Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale
Goals: Ramos (20’), Ronaldo (54’)
Atlético Madrid: Oblak, Siqueira, Miranda, Godin, Juanfran, Tiago, Suárez, Koke, Griezmann (Gabi 73’), Garcia (Jimenez 81’), Torres (Turan 58’)
Goals: Torres (1’, 46’)
3 things
1. This was surprisingly wide-open - What everyone expected to see was an incredibly defensive performance from Atlético Madrid, resulting in a very tight and tense game where Real Madrid struggled to score twice. But Torres’ early goal totally threw off both teams, and the game got a lot more chaotic than it should have been. Not that we’re complaining, it was certainly more entertaining than watching Atléti pack 11 men behind the ball.
2. FERNANDO TORRES!!! - Whoa, this looked like the Torres of old. His finish on the first goal and his stop move on the second were unbelievable. It’s the type of stuff we haven’t seen him do in six years. Has he just been screwing with Chelsea and AC Milan this whole time?
3. Everyone who hates having 15 Clásicos can stop complaining - There wasn’t a Supercopa pair of Clásicos this season and there won’t be a Copa del Rey pair either. Are you happy?
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