Atletico Madrid 0-2 Malaga: Duda And Javi Lopez Bring Down Hosts

Posted Monday, February 01, 2010 by Goal.com

Malaga took all three points from a poor Atletico Madrid side thanks to goals from Duda and Javi Lopez.

The away side got off to the perfect start when Duda knocked the ball in at the far post inside the fourth minute. Malaga attacked down the right, sent in a perfect cross and with Simao still asleep, Duda made no mistake.

Duda nearly doubled Malaga’s advantage in the seventh minute when he went on a great run. The forward dodged past numerous Atletico players before De Gea came out to smother the danger at the feet of the attacker.

Atletico were rocking and Malaga looked the more refreshed of the sides and the most likely to score again. The away team had all the time in the world to play the ball across the midfield as the Atletico defence could not form a straight line and the attackers were nowhere to be seen.

Felipe Caicedo nearly got in behind in the 22nd minute, but the Atletico defense seemed to click for a split second as Antonio Lopez covered with a perfect tackle. However, it was clear that Malaga had the more passion. Toribio in particular was running around the pitch like a maniac and trying to win every single ball.

Malaga should have been 2-0 up through Fernando by the half an hour mark. Simao gave away a needless foul, which allowed Duda to curl a deadly free kick towards the box. Fernando met the ball on the volley and watched helplessly as it hit the post and bounced out of play. Duda then smashed a ball for Caicedo, which bounced of Luis Perea and nearly looped into the net. Needless to say, the home crowd were not happy.

Atletico’s best chance of the half came as half time was quickly approaching. Simao made up for some earlier errors by crossing in a pinpoint free kick, which found Camacho. The Atletico number six steered the ball at goal, but Munua got down quickly and saved well.

Atletico appealed to the referee for some harsh punishment towards Weligton after he thundered into an Atletico player. Players have been sent off for less but the referee produced a yellow and ensured it would be eleven against eleven at the start of the second half. Malaga looked the better side for all of the first 45 minutes and took a healthy lead into the break.

The Atletico response was to make a double change. Jose Reyes and Sergio Aguero both came on for the start of the second-half and they were badly needed by the home team. They certainly injected some energy into Atletico’s performance, in Aguero’s case, maybe a little too much, as he was booked almost instantly.

Atletico were shaping up a little better, but the intelligence in the attacking third was still missing. Simao found himself in a superb position just before the hour mark but his ball in was terrible and the efforts of red and white striped players to get into the box was wasted. Malaga maintained their stability and introduced Baha to make sure the ship stayed steady.

Malaga still retained an air of threat. Jesus Gamez raced through in the 62nd minute, but was foiled by the linesman’s flag. It was becoming evident that Atletico would leave gaps as they went in search of the equalizing goal. The Malaga skipper injured himself in the process and had to be subbed off immediately.

Baha very nearly had a good chance in the 70th minute. A looping ball over the top was nodded down into his path, but the Malaga attacker couldn’t get a foot on it to make the space as an Atletico defender poked it clear.

Javi Lopez then found Malaga’s second goal with a brilliant finish. Baha whipped in a ball from the right hand side, which beat every player in the box. Lopez took a gamble on it, ran in at the far post and slotted in with authority.

That goal seemed to spark Atletico into life. They should have responded within a matter of minutes. Aguero found space just outside the Malaga penalty area and chipped a ball over the defence. Alvaro Dominguez met the ball on the volley and powered it inches wide of the far post. However, the home side needed a goal with only 15 minutes of the game left.

With time running out, Atletico started to pile on the pressure. Simao beat two men down the right wing as the game entered the final ten minutes. The chip into the box was superb but no one took a gamble to get on the end of it. Aguero then curled a shot on target a few minutes later, but Munua was equal to the task and parried away.

Jose Reyes and Tiago both had late shots blocked and saved as Malaga threw bodies in the way to stop a goal. Ultimately Atletico just couldn’t break through as Malaga saw out the match to take the three points.