“Atletico Madrid snag 17th consecutive victory at home agaisnst Real Betis”

Atletico Madrid gave a strong showing for their first quarterfinal match of the Copa del Rey. An early goal from Radamel Falcao, combined with Felipe Louis’ goal shortly after, led Los Rojiblancos to a win. This match is also notable because it marks a new record in the Vicente Calderón. The current squad has gone 9 matches without letting in a goal, the longest run in the history of Atletico Madrid!

 

Within 12 minutes of the match, Falcao showed us why he is one of the most coveted strikers in Europe right now.  Raul Garcia sent a brilliant cross to the left edge of the box, where El Tigre was perfectly in position to slam the ball in the net with a powerful header.

Shortly after, Mario Suarez took a free kick in the 24^th minute.  Betis failed to clear and this cost them the match. Central defender, Felipe Luis, got his foot on the ball after a pass from Diego Costa, and kicked the ball into the low back corner of the net to make the score 2-0. Felipe Luis has always been a strong asset to Atleti’s defence, and it’s great to see his hard work rewarded with a superb goal.

The second half was absent of any goal scoring, but Betis certainly got close. Belgian keeper, Thibaut Courtois certainly deserves an honorable mention for some superb goalkeeping. At one point, there was a pile up in the box, and Betis kept firing shots, and Courtois kept blocking them. When everyone else was panicking, he kept calm, blocked three shots in a row, and kept Los Colchoneros, in the game.

Also impressive was Diego Costa. Though he didn’t score, he executed a clean and effective cut back on the right wing before passing the ball to Raul Garcia, who then assisted Falcao’s goal. Also, the Brazilian showed us some brilliant dribbling before passing the ball to the center to find Felipe Luis for the finish.

Los Rojiblancos have had an impressive season thus far, and a Copa del Rey win would be great for them, especially since their chances of beating out Barcelona for the league title are slim to none. However, they are 7 points ahead of city rivals, Real Madrid. They will travel to Sevilla to play Real Betis again the 24^th. Their next match is the 20^th against Levante. 

written by Donais Deetz