Tuning into tonight’s clash at the Rosaleda one could have been forgiven for thinking that they had stumbled upon some kind of River Plate exhibition match. Los Millonarios were well represented by both Málaga and Atlético on the pitch, with ex-players Falcao, Buonanotte and Demichelis present, as well as on the sidelines, with former Argentina Primera División championship winning coaches, Manuel Pellegrini and Diego Simeone controlling the respective benches.
But despite the Buenos Aires connection, there was no feeling of “friendly” or “testimonial” hanging over this encounter. Both sides were out to start this year with a bang and put a disappointing 2011 behind them and this desire to rectify two poor league campaigns ensured for a hotly contested match from start to finish - although it has to be said that the intensity of the first half trailed off somewhat during the second.
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| Simeone and Pellegrini on the sidelines |
This was the juiciest of all this weekend’s fixture list ties for many reasons but the main one concerned the arrival of one man in particular.
All eyes were on the aforementioned Diego ‘El Cholo’ Simeone, Atleti’s new manager. And the Argentine showed his intent to change things for the South Madrid club before the match had even kicked off, with the controversial (if not head scratching) decision to drop arguably Atleti’s two most consistent performers, Arda Turan and Adrian, from the starting XI.
Pre-match talk of a baptism of fire for Manzano’s replacement was not completely overstated. While Málaga hasn’t come close to firing on all cylinders yet, their home form in the league has been impressive (5W, 1D, 1L). Also, los Boquerones are in direct competition with Atleti for a European spot in May, with both clubs no doubt eyeing up the fourth Champions League as their main objective, so tonight’s game bore even more pressure than an ordinary managerial debut would.
In the end it finished scoreless, neither team possessing the required fire power to really trouble their opponent. But that’s not to say there weren’t any chances. With the back and forth tempo at the beginning of the match both sides had opportunities to open up the scoring: Tiago could have released Salvio, who was running into space, instead of tamely attempting to lop Willy Cabellero. Seconds later, and at the other end, Buonanotte was denied from an acute angle when Courtois came out to save his shot. Even Felipe got in on the shooting action with a well-struck volley from outside the area, but ultimately Cabellero was able to smother it comfortably.
Again Pellegrini favoured Salomón Rondon over Van Nistelrooy in his selection and his faith in the Venezuelan was almost repaid early on, when the striker rose to meet a Santi Cazorla free kick with a bullet header, that was destined for the back of the net. However, Belgian wonder kid Courtois spectacularly diverted it with an instinctive and strong left handed save, putting it out for a corner instead.
Soon after and the visitors could have nicked a lead after some trickery and an element of luck saw Salvio wriggle past Demichelis on the left to pass to Diego, whose shot took a wicked deflection and ricocheted off the cross bar.
Another chance for the home side went begging when somehow neither Toulalan nor Welington could direct a gloriously placed cross by Cazorla from a free kick into the net.
The second half was lower on highlights but (for any coaching enthusiasts who were watching) Cazorla encapsulated the importance of having a man guarding the post for a corner, when he prevented a goal-bound Godín header from sneaking into the bottom corner.
Pellegrini’s experience with Falcao was apparent by just how impotent the usually effective Colombian was tonight. Welington, making a rare appearance in the starting XI, had El Tigre in his pocket for the entirety of the match - outwitting the lone striker and matching him for pace time after time. Apart from a headed goal, which was disallowed for impeding Cabellero, the former Porto star’s most notable contribution to the game came in the 65th minute, when out of frustration he chopped down Monreal with a nasty, late challenge.
El Cholo starts his managerial career with a valuable away point, something los colchoneros struggled to do up until now this season, but there will be some question marks over his team selection tonight. The fact that he waited until the 88th minute to introduce Adrian was a particularly baffling, considering how clearly off the boil Falcao was.
Meanwhile, Málaga continue to miss Baptista, neither Rondon or Van Nistelrooy look threatening enough to unsettle opposition defences and if Champions League is the objective, then these two don’t look up to the task.
Full Time: Málaga 0 Atlético Madrid 0
Fact: Tonight was only the second time in the league this season that Málaga failed to score at home and Atleti didn’t concede away.
Málaga: Caballero, Gámez, Welington, Demichelis, Monreal, Toulalan, Cazorla, Bounanotte, Isco, Juanmi, Rondón
Subs used: Van Nistelrooy, Duda, Apoño
Atlético Madrid: Courtois, Perea, Godín, Domínguez, Filipe, Tiago, Juanfran, Gabi, Diego, Salvio, Falcao
Subs used: Adrian, Arda
Referee Texeira Vitienes
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