Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool - 7M sport

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool

Posted Friday, April 23, 2010 by Goal.com

The ex-Manchester United striker continued his scoring exploits against Liverpool, giving the Mattress Makers a vital lead going into next week's second leg.

Diego Forlan was Atletico Madrid's hero as his ninth minute strike at the second attempt gave the Spaniards a 1-0 first leg victory over Liverpool in their Europa League semi-final.

The Uruguayan pounced during a sustained period of pressure from the home side in the early stages, but they were unable to add to their single goal and will take a narrow lead to Anfield next week.

With Fernando Torres missing out on a dream return to the Vicente Calderon through his season-ending injury, David Ngog led Liverpool’s line, whilst former Manchester United man Diego Forlan spearheaded Atleti’s attack alone in the absence of Sergio Aguero, who was left to watch from the stands as both teams lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The home side dominated the early stages with Jose Antonio Reyes causing plenty of danger for Daniel Agger down Liverpool’s left. Not that the right side of Liverpool’s rearguard could rest either, with Jose Manuel Jurado equally threatening down the other wing.

It came as a surprise to nobody when Atleti struck in only the ninth minute. Jurado crossed from the left for Diego Forlan, but the striker’s header was rushed and the ball just bobbled into space. However, it was the Uruguayan who reacted quickest to the second ball, and his left foot shot took a deflection off Pepe Reina’s shoulder before finding the corner of the net from eight yards. Fortunate though it may have been, the goal was more than deserved.

The English side had to do what they could to get back into the game, but even after falling behind they were finding it hard to gain possession for any notable period. They actually had the ball in the back of the next in the 18th minute after their first decent move of the game, as Yossi Benayoun chased down Dirk Kuyt's perfect through ball and slotted beyond David De Gea. But the referee’s assistant had raised his flag against the Israeli despite Tomas Ujfalusi having seemingly kept him onside.

Within a minute Liverpool should again have been level, but this time it was of their own doing that the score remained 1-0, as Steven Gerrard was released down the left to go one-on-one with De Gea, but he drilled his left foot shot into the side-netting.

The Reds continued to force their way into the game, and a long cross-field ball by Agger was met with a lovely first touch by Kuyt, but Gerrard’s was not as convincing, and as he tried to get the ball back under control he was eventually forced to run wide by the Atleti defence and the chance was gone.

There was a big penalty call from the home side around the half-hour mark as Reyes went to ground under pressure, but the referee was in no mood to listen to the Spaniard’s protests.

Liverpool were starting to look a little more comfortable on the ball though, and Gerrard slipped a delightful ball through to Johnson as he overlapped down the right, but the pass had just too much pace on it, and the former Portsmouth full-back did well simply to stop the ball running for a goal kick.

The pattern of play remained finely poised until the break, though the Mattress Makers didn’t look overly worried about the chances of losing their lead before retiring to the changing rooms.

It was the Merseysiders who started the better in the second period, with the ball being moved about with more belief than they showed in the opening 45 minutes. After Ngog almost got clear of his marker, Liverpool worked the ball to the right, but Kuyt was well harried off the ball by Antonio Lopez and the ball ran harmlessly out for a goal kick.

As Liverpool continued to look for the equaliser, Atletico so easily could have had a second.

First, Reyes sent Forlan through with a delightful chipped pass, but the striker couldn’t supply the finish and it was all too easy for Reina to collect. Then Glen Johnson slipped as he attempted to field a cross from Ujfalusi on the right, leaving Simao unmarked to shoot on sight, but Reina produced a fantastic one-handed reaction save to keep the Reds in the game.

With the visitors still looking for a vital away goal, manager Rafa Benitez introduced Ryan Babel for the lifeless David Ngog, meaning a switch into the centre of attack for Dirk Kuyt.

After the change, Liverpool began to look more lively, and Kuyt was freed down the left channel but just couldn’t quite get the ball into a comfortable position for a shot, and by the time he pulled the ball back into the centre of the box the chance had been lost.

Reina was again called into action with less than a quarter of an hour to go, making a point-blank save from Ujfalusi’s stinging left foot drive, and Jamie Carragher did well to clear the resulting loose ball ahead of the home side’s onrushing attackers.

Time was now running out for the Reds, but Atleti remained steadfast in the face of increased pressure from the away side, clearly believing that 1-0 would be a satisfactory result to take on the road to Anfield next Thursday. Juan Valera was brought on for Simao, whilst Diego Forlan was replaced by Toto Salvio.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos thought that Liverpool should have had a shot at an away goal with seven minutes left after he clashed with Ujfalusi in the home side’s area from a deep free kick, but referee Laurent Duhamel didn’t like the cut of his jib and decided to book the Greek rather than award a penalty.

With time running out, it was seemingly Liverpool who had decided to settle for the 1-0 scoreline, with the Madrid side forcing a succession of corners which very nearly gave them the buffer of a second goal.

But Liverpool held out and will fancy their chances of overturning the narrow deficit in seven days’ time, though Atleti may feel they have an away goal in them on tonight’s evidence.



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