Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid, 2015 Champions League: An unsurprising scoreless draw

Atletico Madrid almost held on: Reduced to 10 men against Real Madrid, they maintained a scoreless draw until the 88th minute. Then Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, and Chicharito combined with this bit of play to give Real the game-winning goal:

It’s by far the most important goal Chicharito has had in his loan spell with Real. It took a slew of injuries and suspensions for the Mexican national to get the start and he hadn’t been superb for the majority of the match, but he slotted the pass from Ronaldo home when it counted, knocking out Real’s crosstown rivals.

Arguably the most interesting of the Champions League quarterfinal round matchups is the crosstown rivalry of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Not only is there the element of a local derby involved, but this also recreates last year’s Champions League final, when Real Madrid overcame the side that had just beaten them to the La Liga title and won La Decima, Real’s 10th Champions League title, in the process.

Really, who else could this have been? Real are an elite side for the sheer talent on the roster, but on his day Ronaldo is a force unto himself. At this stage in the Champions League and facing his club’s crosstown rivals, you know Ronaldo is going to be eager to take this match over on his own, so we could see quite a show from the Portuguese megastar. Unless Atletico can find a way to keep him in check, Ronaldo is definitely going to be making his presence felt.