Atletico made it four straight wins in La Liga by beating seventh-placed Deportivo La Coruna at the Vicente Calderon stadium as they aim for an unlikely Europa League position.
The game started a scrappy affair, with both sides attempting to keep possession but more often than not failing to use it in an effective manner. Despite the fact that the game was end-to-end, no real chances were created.
The first chance of note did not arrive until the 16th minute when a Diego Forlan drive was spilt by Deportivo keeper Daniel Aranzubía, only for Kun Agüero to miss the ball and fall to the floor.
Everything from the home side was going through Aguero; as his influence grew so did Madrid’s. Their third corner of the match (20) was cleared only as far as Simão, who crossed for Forlan to head against Aranzubía; the rebound fell to Juanito, who hooked the ball into the back of the net.
The deadlock finally broken, the vibrant home fans expected the game to liven up but to no real avail. La Coruna contrived to get a foothold in the game in the form of Juan Carlos Valerón and Andrés Guardado. Atletico shot-stopper De Gea gifted the away side their first corner of the match by failing to control the ball on the goal-line.
Depor’ failed to score, their wasteful corners matched by the lively Tomáš Ujfalusi’s desire to keep a clean sheet. The side in all white looked most likely to score from a set-piece or cross, hardly surprising given that Atletico have conceded 13 goals from set pieces this season; the worst record in the division. It was easy to see why; the home side had conceded eight fouls within the first 30 minutes.
Deportivo then missed two headed opportunities within the space of ten minutes which would have seen them equalise. The first came on 33 minutes when Sergio’s free-kick was headed wide by Colotto, with striker Adrian repeating the feat minutes later when he attempted to angle the ball beyond the Atletico’s keeper.
After the break it was still an even contest but Miguel Angel Lotina’s side failed to make their possession count as they were quite frankly hopeless in the final third of the pitch. The side in red and white were more efficient at winning the ball and their technical superiority enabled them to make better use of their possession, with Tiago and Jurado pulling the strings.
Lotina attempted to change his team’s wastefulness by replacing midfielder Valerón with the more attack-minded Riki. However, it was not to be his day; as quickly as Riki had entered the field of play the opposing side had doubled their lead through Uruguayan striker Forlan (57).
Daniel Aranzubía, Depor’s number one, was guilty this time. His miss-kick allowed Jurado to unleash a shot which then fell to Simão. Aranzubía almost atoned for his mistake by saving the Portuguese’s effort, only for the ball to fall kindly for Forlan to head home and ensure a fifth straight win at the Vicente Calderon.
The second goal killed the game. Depor’ had lost their three previous league games and it showed; their early-season promise has not been fulfilled and their aim of a Europa League spot looks less likely by the week in contrast to Atletico, who before kick-off lay in tenth place.
The home side applied the pressure and the away side crumbled.
The industrious Ujfalusi was allowed to drive forward effortlessly from right-back throughout the entirety of the game. The Czech combined with Forlan before skipping past Lopo and crossed for the influential Tiago to finish the move and end any remote hope that remained for the travelling fans.
Florez was now rewarded with the opportunity to take off Forlan and Aguero ahead of a vital Europa League quarter-final second leg at home to Valencia on Thursday.
The only moment of note for the Galician club was a 30-yard free kick from substitute Perez, whose audacious effort was spectacularly saved by David de Gea.
The remainder of the game was merely a formality for Atletico who took their foot off the pedal with Thursday’s game clearly in mind, but not before the demolition of a faltering Depor’ who will look to their next fixture at home to relegation-threatened Racing Santander before the formality of Barcelona away.
For the regular fans at the Vicente Calderon it’s a completely different story to the first half of the season. A new manager and the introduction of the experienced Tiago has provided a visible lift, with the target now a Europa League spot; after watching tonight’s encounter, who can bet against them finishing above the not-so-Super Depor’?
The game started a scrappy affair, with both sides attempting to keep possession but more often than not failing to use it in an effective manner. Despite the fact that the game was end-to-end, no real chances were created.
The first chance of note did not arrive until the 16th minute when a Diego Forlan drive was spilt by Deportivo keeper Daniel Aranzubía, only for Kun Agüero to miss the ball and fall to the floor.
Everything from the home side was going through Aguero; as his influence grew so did Madrid’s. Their third corner of the match (20) was cleared only as far as Simão, who crossed for Forlan to head against Aranzubía; the rebound fell to Juanito, who hooked the ball into the back of the net.
The deadlock finally broken, the vibrant home fans expected the game to liven up but to no real avail. La Coruna contrived to get a foothold in the game in the form of Juan Carlos Valerón and Andrés Guardado. Atletico shot-stopper De Gea gifted the away side their first corner of the match by failing to control the ball on the goal-line.
Depor’ failed to score, their wasteful corners matched by the lively Tomáš Ujfalusi’s desire to keep a clean sheet. The side in all white looked most likely to score from a set-piece or cross, hardly surprising given that Atletico have conceded 13 goals from set pieces this season; the worst record in the division. It was easy to see why; the home side had conceded eight fouls within the first 30 minutes.
Deportivo then missed two headed opportunities within the space of ten minutes which would have seen them equalise. The first came on 33 minutes when Sergio’s free-kick was headed wide by Colotto, with striker Adrian repeating the feat minutes later when he attempted to angle the ball beyond the Atletico’s keeper.
After the break it was still an even contest but Miguel Angel Lotina’s side failed to make their possession count as they were quite frankly hopeless in the final third of the pitch. The side in red and white were more efficient at winning the ball and their technical superiority enabled them to make better use of their possession, with Tiago and Jurado pulling the strings.
Lotina attempted to change his team’s wastefulness by replacing midfielder Valerón with the more attack-minded Riki. However, it was not to be his day; as quickly as Riki had entered the field of play the opposing side had doubled their lead through Uruguayan striker Forlan (57).
Daniel Aranzubía, Depor’s number one, was guilty this time. His miss-kick allowed Jurado to unleash a shot which then fell to Simão. Aranzubía almost atoned for his mistake by saving the Portuguese’s effort, only for the ball to fall kindly for Forlan to head home and ensure a fifth straight win at the Vicente Calderon.
The second goal killed the game. Depor’ had lost their three previous league games and it showed; their early-season promise has not been fulfilled and their aim of a Europa League spot looks less likely by the week in contrast to Atletico, who before kick-off lay in tenth place.
The home side applied the pressure and the away side crumbled.
The industrious Ujfalusi was allowed to drive forward effortlessly from right-back throughout the entirety of the game. The Czech combined with Forlan before skipping past Lopo and crossed for the influential Tiago to finish the move and end any remote hope that remained for the travelling fans.
Florez was now rewarded with the opportunity to take off Forlan and Aguero ahead of a vital Europa League quarter-final second leg at home to Valencia on Thursday.
The only moment of note for the Galician club was a 30-yard free kick from substitute Perez, whose audacious effort was spectacularly saved by David de Gea.
The remainder of the game was merely a formality for Atletico who took their foot off the pedal with Thursday’s game clearly in mind, but not before the demolition of a faltering Depor’ who will look to their next fixture at home to relegation-threatened Racing Santander before the formality of Barcelona away.
For the regular fans at the Vicente Calderon it’s a completely different story to the first half of the season. A new manager and the introduction of the experienced Tiago has provided a visible lift, with the target now a Europa League spot; after watching tonight’s encounter, who can bet against them finishing above the not-so-Super Depor’?
