Atletico Madrid 1 : 2 Real Madrid - Real win Madrid derby - 7M sport

Atletico Madrid 1 : 2 Real Madrid - Real win Madrid derby



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Posted Saturday, March 19, 2011 by PA

In-form striker Karim Benzema was on the mark in a 2-1 win to help Real Madrid continue their long-standing domination of city rivals Atletico Madrid and keep the pressure on Primera Division pacesetters Barcelona.

Benzema struck his 10th goal from his last eight appearances to put Madrid ahead early on and Mesut Ozil added a second before the break to leave Real, who have not lost to Atletico home or away since 1999, in control.

Sergio Aguero pulled a goal back for Atletico in the 86th minute to give the hosts hope but it was not enough to deny Jose Mourinho's men, who cut Barcelona's lead back to five points after the Catalan club had beaten Getafe earlier in the evening.

Atletico, meanwhile, missed the chance to provisionally move level with sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao after seeing their five-match unbeaten run come to an end.

Real have made a habit of scoring early goals in this fixture in recent years and they enjoyed another barnstorming start.

It took them just 46 seconds to create their first opening, Benzema slicing a shot wide, and then Cristiano Ronaldo and Sami Khedira drew saves out of David De Gea.

Lassana Diarra then inexplicably opted to cut the ball back with just De Gea to beat.

The home side's luck ran out 60 seconds after that though as Real took a deserved lead.

Khedira's sublime pass put Benzema through on the edge of the box and the flying Frenchman left De Gea with no chance as fired in his 21st goal of the season in all competitions.

At that stage it looked like being an uncomfortably long night for Atletico, but the Rojiblancos fought back well and for the next 15 minutes it was Iker Casillas who had all the worries.

The Spain captain was called on to tip over efforts from Jose Antonio Reyes - twice - and Diego Godin, while Aguero drew a diving save out of the World Cup winner.

Atletico could not make a breakthrough however, and they fell 2-0 behind in the 33rd minute when Ozil netted.

Ronaldo felt he should have been awarded a penalty but play continued and Marcelo picked up possession out wide, cut the ball back to Ozil on the edge of the box and the German found the roof of the net with a shot that De Gea got a hand to but could not keep out.

Aguero was booked soon after for diving in the area, and Ronaldo twice went close to adding a third for Real before the break as the visitors turned the screw.

It was looking bleak for Atletico at half-time, but they refused to go down without a fight and were well on top at the start of the second half.

Diego Forlan fired into the side-netting with an effort that had some home fans celebrating, before a Mario Suarez thunderbolt brought another save out of Casillas.

Aguero then had Atletico's clearest chance of the night up to that point when he was put through by Reyes in the 54th minute, but Casillas produced another superb save to deny the Argentina international.

As in the first half though, Atletico could find no way through and Real were increasingly looking dangerous on the counter-attack with Ozil and Ronaldo missing chances.

With time running out, Atletico finally managed to pull a goal back when Aguero fired a low shot past Casillas, but Quique Sanchez Flores' men could not find an equaliser as they slumped to their fourth competitive defeat to Real this season.



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