Decisive role for Royston Drenthe a Real beat Atletico

Sunday 19 October 2008

A match that was overshadowed by very poor refereeing and that didn't deserve a winner had a dramatic end in which the biggest of the two Madrid clubs snatched up all three points.

With Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wesley Sneijder in the starting lineup Real Madrid opened furiously against the second team from Madrid.

After only 34 seconds Ruud van Nistelrooy opened the score with a vicious drive from 25 meters out and in the phase that followed the reigning champions threatened to completely overrun the home team.

Van Nistelrooy saw a second good goal disallowed by the poor referee and after he had seen Sneijder hit the corss bar he got a straight red card for a late but by no means bad tackle on Maniche.

It was a ridiculous decision by the ref who at that moment must have been fearing he was losing the grip on things.

Van Nistelrooy was the second player to be sent off after Luis Perea had also seen a straight red for slapping Sneijder in the face.

With both teams down to ten it was Atletico who had the best of play, but for 90 minutes the hosts found a great Iker Casillas on their way.

However the Spanish number 1 stood nailed to the ground when Simão curled a free kick over the wall from just outside the penaly area in the last minute of normal time.

That seemed to establish the only just result for the game, but fate would decide differently.

In the fourth of six minutes of added time subsitute Royston Drenthe came in threatening from the left and was clumsily brought down by John Heitinga inside the box.

The referee had no other option than to reward it with a penalty which was converted flawlessly by Gonzalo Higuaín.

The win meant that Real now put themselves firmly in the top five of the Primera Division, whereas Atletico must allow a gap of 7 points with Real and 8 with leaders Villareal.

Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid 1-2
Attendance: 56,000
Score:
1-0 - 01' Van Nistelrooy
1-1 - 90' Simão
2-1 - 90'+4 Higuaín (penalty)