Atletico Madrid earned a precious draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the Supercopa, thanks to a poor defending from Real Madrid in a corner kick. Los Blancos dominated possession, but their rivals defence put them in serious trouble.
The visitors were very intense defensively from the first minute. In fact, they earned two early bookings, shown to Siqueira and Koke.
Los Blancos had the possession but struggled to reach their rival’s box. Atletico had the first chances in a couple of counter-attacks, but both shots were straight at Casillas.
Gareth Bale and Daniel Carvajal were the most dangerous Real players, as they sent a few crosses into the box from the right wing, but all of them were cleared by Atletico’s defenders.
The best chance for Los Merengues in the first half came when Bale moved to the left side of the attack. The Welshman sent a cross that Cristiano Ronaldo met it inside the box, but his header just dropped wide of the post.
The Portuguese started to suffer muscle problems and was replaced by James Rodriguez at half-time. With the Colombian on the field, Los Blancos found a connection between midfielders and attackers, and they starting threatening Miguel Angel Moya.
Bale came close for Madrid after bursting into the Atletico box, but his effort was straight at the keeper. Minutes later, a powerful shot from the Welshman forced Moya to hurriedly parry, and Kroos was unable to turn home the rebound.
You got the feeling that Real were about to score, and James made it 1-0 in the 81st minute. A cross was blocked by Miranda and half-cleared by Juanfran, allowing the Colombian to squeeze home a close-range finish. It was his first goal in an official match for Real Madrid.
However, the league champions leveled with three minutes to go as Raul Garcia bundled home from close range following a corner from the left. It was a poor defending from Los Blancos that allowed Atletico earn a precious draw they didn’t deserve.
