FOOTBALL Live

Sunday December 14, 2008 Finished

2 - 0

Atletico Madrid

Rodriguez 20’
Aguero 81’

Real Betis Balompié

Live Commentary
Time:90'
- Atletico Madrid
- Real Betis Balompié
- 90'+3 All over, and Atletico have been clinical in finishing off this match with some good play that's strangled the life out of a lively Betis side. Many thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time!
- 90' Into injury time, and there's a final chance for Betis to earn a consolation goal with a free kick into the six-yard box. But it's well defended by the red and white stripes. The resulting corner is cleared, but Juanma gets the ball into Sergio Garcia for a flying header - which sadly drifts wide. Garcia deserved to get something out of his good performance tonight.
- 87' Atletico have nine men behind the ball now as the home crowd sing their approval of a solid victory. The fight's gnoe out of Betis: they've played well, but just haven't quite had enough to match their hosts.
- 84' No sooner have Atletico scored what will surely be the winning goal than Javier Aguirre pulls off all his most prized possessions: Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez come off immediately to be saved for other battles.
- 81' 2-0!!! GOAL FOR ATLETICO! Their defensive approach has been noticeable in the second half, but playing on the break pays dividends for the hosts. Forlan picks up a pass from Maniche, and knocks on a lovely ball through to Aguero's perfectly-timed run. The 20-year-old striker has just the keeper to beat, and curls it past the outstretched left hand of Espinosa.
- 79' It's a yellow for Betis's Aurelio now - and a bit of a soft one, awarded for an aerial push that was debatable at best.
- 77' Where does Sergio Garcia think he is, Strictly Come Dancing? The striker twirls on the spot in a manner that seems more arty-farty than strictly necessary to try and beat Heitinga - but falls flat on his face and is jeered by the crowd.
- 75' It's a yellow for Emana following his flying ankle chop of Maniche.
- 72' Another half-chance for Betis there as Capi tries an audacious bicycle volley but he shins it, and it loops harmlessly over the bar.
- 69' A good opportunity goes begging for Sergio Aguero, who makes a great run down the right to give himself space to shoot but just drags the ball wide. From the restart Betis create space for Capi to shoot within seconds, but he can't keep the ball down and Franco leaves it to go over the bar.
- 66' Sergio Garcia beats the Atletico offside trap AND HE'S THROUGH, HE MUST SCORE.... BUT NO! The shot is too weak, placed to the left when blasting straight at goal would surely have seen him score. What an opportunity for an equaliser!
- 62' Simao wastes an opportunity on the left by going down from Nelson's challenge when staying on his feet seemed the easier option - but 90 seconds later Nelson chops his man in style. Yellow card for the hack.
- 59' A superb chance for Betis as Sanchez charges down the left into the penalty box and smacks a left-foot shot on target. Franco is well placed to save but can't hang on to the ball, and it looks as though Capi will be there for the follow-up... but instead it falls to Ujfalusi, who clears the danger gratefully.
- 57' Forlan!!! Lined up and ready to pounce, the South American unleashes hell on the ball - and very nearly clears the lip of the stadium. Whoops!
- 54' Betis have their first chance of the second half as Juanma almost gets onto a back-pass by Heitinga. The defence clear up their mess, but only just: another yard and Juanma would have been able to pull the trigger.
- 50' Neither team making much headway so far, though it's Atletico who are making more of the running. The men in the pyjama-style red and white stripes look supremely confident on the ball, even if they struggle to make headway against a Betis defence that is markedly better organised than in the first half.
- 46' Back under way here in Madrid, and both teams seem to be playing with a calmer attitude than they had in the frenetic first half. Which might be easier for the players, but is a bit of a shame for people watching.
- 45'+1 Half-time here in Madrid, and it's been a decent game of football that could yet go either way.
- 45' Sergio Garcia tries to win a penalty for Betis there, but it's one of those running-intentionally-into-someone's-back things. Atletico clear for Maxi Rodrgiuez, with all the time in the world, to take too long over his shot and see it blocked by the defence.
- 42' More good pressure from Betis - it's two well-matched teams here, and Sergio Garcia ends up with a chance to volley in. He doesn't connect, but at this rate an equaliser - or certainly another goal - is an inevitability.
- 40' Atletico keep on coming, and earn a throw in the right hand corner. It comes in well, but the danger is cleared and Betis stroll back up the other end.
- 37' More good stuff from Betis there, but Atletico counter well and Maniche is through to the penalty box with support - but he runs too far and Espinosa comes out to gather the danger. A real let-off for Betis there.
- 30' Atletico on the counter, and the ball goes through to Simao for a simple tap-in - but he's sadly offside. It looked miles off at first, but the replay shows there was only a yard or two in it. Betis have been slightly lucky there.
- 27' Betis are playing some good, flowing stuff still, with Garcia taking a good head but having too much to do. Their light-blue and white hoops with black shorts are sort of reminiscent of Argentina's national kit. If you tilt your head to the side, that is.
- 23' It's all Betis now as they come back into it, and as Atletico chase their visitors Assuncao gets a yellow for flying in late - even though Emana has plenty of time to leap clear.
- 20' GOAL!!! Maxi Rodriguez runs up from deep in his own half, gets onto the end of a terrific through ball from Aguero by controlling it on his chest, and buries his shot at full tilt into the bottom right corner. Great stuff!
- 17' After their initial scares Betis are settling in nicely now, and they create enough pressure for Pernia to deem it necessary to bring down Juanma. The free kick in is good, but nobody gets on the end and the far post man clears the trouble for Atletico.
- 14' Betis charge back up the other end and it's the ponytailed Sergio Garcia - no relation to the famed golfer and Real Madrid fanatic - finds space and time to shoot. But it's a carbon copy of Forlan's effort at the other end.
- 11' Betis come back on the counter but it comes to nothing before Diego Forlan gets into the action. The Uruguyan creates enough space to allow himself a shot, but while on target it lacks power and is easily saved by Espinosa.
- 7' After the drama of the opening couple of minutes things calm down a bit, but the home side look on great form here in Madrid. They know that a victory could take them above their arch-rivals Real in the league - that's quite an incentive.
- 4' Atletico nearly score again! A great bit of skill from Aguero down to the line and cutting the ball back gives Simao a clear shot at goal, and only a flukey save by Espinosa Garrido - who clearly knew little of what was happening - saves the day.
- 2' My God! What are Betis doing? The game has hardly started and they're passing the ball back and forth in front of the Atletico attackers - and Forlan nearly nips in to score!
- - Welcome to our LIVE coverage of Atletico Madrid against Real Betis!

Team Stats

Atletico Madrid	Stats	Real Betis Balompié
48%	Possession	51%
17	Shots	10
7	Shots on target	3
3	Saves	2
1	Corners	6
15	Fouls	14
8	Offsides	1
1	Yellow cards	3
0	Red cards	0
26	Tackles	9
335	Accurate passes	359
69	Bad passes	47

Player Stats

G =: Goals
S =: Shots
SoT =: Shot on Target

F =: Fouls
FW =: Fouls Won
O =: Offsides

A =: Assists
AP =: Accurate Passes
BP =: Bad Passes

T =: Tackles

Atletico Madrid
Num	Name	G	S	SoT	F	FW	O	A	AP	BP	T
25	Leonardo Franco	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1	0
5	Johnny Heitinga	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	31	4	1
4	Mariano Pernia	0	1	0	5	1	1	0	34	18	2
21	Luis Perea	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	24	1	5
17	Tomas Ujfalusi	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	34	9	4
12	Paulo Assuncao	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	33	3	3
18	Maniche Ribeiro	0	1	0	0	1	2	1	51	8	2
11	Maximiliano Rodríguez	1	5	3	0	2	2	0	24	2	4
20	Simão Sabrosa	0	1	1	1	3	0	0	32	9	2
10	Sergio Aguero	1	3	2	1	1	3	0	21	7	0
7	Diego Forlan	0	6	1	0	1	0	1	20	6	0
3	Antonio López Guerrero	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Pablo Ibañez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Gregory Coupet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Florent Sinama-Pongolle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Ever Banega	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	7	0	0
9	Luis Javier García Sanz	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	1
8	Raúl García	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	8	1	2

Real Betis Balompié
Num	Name	S	SoT	F	FW	O	AP	BP	T
13	Casto Espinosa Barriga	0	0	0	0	0	8	3	0
3	Fernando Vega	0	0	2	0	0	32	15	3
23	Nélson Augusto Tomar Marcos	0	0	1	1	0	24	1	1
12	Damia Abella Pérez	0	0	1	1	0	25	1	0
4	Juan Gutiérrez Moreno	1	0	0	0	0	37	3	0
20	Achille Emana	0	0	2	4	1	27	0	1
8	Arturo Garcia Muñoz	0	0	1	1	0	31	1	0
21	Mehmet Aurelio	0	0	3	1	0	69	3	1
14	Jesus Capi	1	0	3	1	0	54	8	0
7	Juan Manuel Gómez Sánchez	2	1	1	3	0	19	5	1
9	Sergio Garcia	5	2	2	0	0	18	5	2
1	Ricardo Pereira	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	Juan de Dios Prados López	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Luciano Monzón	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Francisco Munoz Xisco	1	0	0	0	0	7	2	0
33	Diego Segura	0	0	0	2	0	4	0	0
18	Alberto Rivera	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Juan Alberto Andreu Alvarado	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0

Summary
- 81' 2-0!!! GOAL FOR ATLETICO! Their defensive approach has been noticeable in the second half, but playing on the break pays dividends for the hosts. Forlan picks up a pass from Maniche, and knocks on a lovely ball through to Aguero's perfectly-timed run. The 20-year-old striker has just the keeper to beat, and curls it past the outstretched left hand of Espinosa.
- 69' A good opportunity goes begging for Sergio Aguero, who makes a great run down the right to give himself space to shoot but just drags the ball wide. From the restart Betis create space for Capi to shoot within seconds, but he can't keep the ball down and Franco leaves it to go over the bar.
- 66' Sergio Garcia beats the Atletico offside trap AND HE'S THROUGH, HE MUST SCORE.... BUT NO! The shot is too weak, placed to the left when blasting straight at goal would surely have seen him score. What an opportunity for an equaliser!
- 59' A superb chance for Betis as Sanchez charges down the left into the penalty box and smacks a left-foot shot on target. Franco is well placed to save but can't hang on to the ball, and it looks as though Capi will be there for the follow-up... but instead it falls to Ujfalusi, who clears the danger gratefully.
- 57' Forlan!!! Lined up and ready to pounce, the South American unleashes hell on the ball - and very nearly clears the lip of the stadium. Whoops!
- 54' Betis have their first chance of the second half as Juanma almost gets onto a back-pass by Heitinga. The defence clear up their mess, but only just: another yard and Juanma would have been able to pull the trigger.
- 45' Sergio Garcia tries to win a penalty for Betis there, but it's one of those running-intentionally-into-someone's-back things. Atletico clear for Maxi Rodrgiuez, with all the time in the world, to take too long over his shot and see it blocked by the defence.
- 42' More good pressure from Betis - it's two well-matched teams here, and Sergio Garcia ends up with a chance to volley in. He doesn't connect, but at this rate an equaliser - or certainly another goal - is an inevitability.
- 37' More good stuff from Betis there, but Atletico counter well and Maniche is through to the penalty box with support - but he runs too far and Espinosa comes out to gather the danger. A real let-off for Betis there.
- 30' Atletico on the counter, and the ball goes through to Simao for a simple tap-in - but he's sadly offside. It looked miles off at first, but the replay shows there was only a yard or two in it. Betis have been slightly lucky there.
- 20' GOAL!!! Maxi Rodriguez runs up from deep in his own half, gets onto the end of a terrific through ball from Aguero by controlling it on his chest, and buries his shot at full tilt into the bottom right corner. Great stuff!
- 17' After their initial scares Betis are settling in nicely now, and they create enough pressure for Pernia to deem it necessary to bring down Juanma. The free kick in is good, but nobody gets on the end and the far post man clears the trouble for Atletico.
- 4' Atletico nearly score again! A great bit of skill from Aguero down to the line and cutting the ball back gives Simao a clear shot at goal, and only a flukey save by Espinosa Garrido - who clearly knew little of what was happening - saves the day.
- 2' My God! What are Betis doing? The game has hardly started and they're passing the ball back and forth in front of the Atletico attackers - and Forlan nearly nips in to score!

Live Team Line-Up

Referee: Miguel Angel Perez Lasa
Atletico Madrid

Manager: Javier Aguirre

Starting line-up
- L. Franco
- L. Perea
- J. Heitinga
- T. Ujfalusi
- M. Pernia
- P. Assuncao
- R. Maniche
- M. Rodriguez
- .. Simao
- S. Aguero
- D. Forlan
Subs
- 1. G. Coupet
- 3. .. Antonio Lopez
- 14. F. Sinama-Pongolle
- 9. L. Garcia 84′
- 22. P. Ibáñez
- 8. .. Raul Garcia 74′
- 16. E. Banega 82′
Injured

None

Suspended

None
Real Betis Balompié

Manager: Paco Chaparro

Starting line-up
- C. Espinosa Garrido
- -. Nelson
- .. Juanito
- A. "Arzu"
- T. Fernando Vega
- A. Emana
- M. Aurelio
- G. Juanma
- J. "Capi"
- A. Damiá
- S. García
Subs
- 18. A. Rivera
- 19. F. Xisco 66′
- 1. .. Ricardo
- 2. J. Melli 82′
- 27. J. Juande
- 15. L. Monzon
- 30. D. Segura 75′
Injured
- 10. L. Schmidt "Edú"
- 11. M. Gonzalez Hoffmann
- 16. H. Pavone
Suspended

None