Champions League: Brahim Diaz hands Real Madrid narrow advantage as Atletico turn to second leg
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Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz scored a second-half winner as the hosts edged out neighbours Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a scrappy first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
It was a stuttering capital derby between bitter rivals who at times looked to be playing within themselves, seemingly conserving some energy for what is likely to be a compelling return leg at Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium next week.
Real started on fire when Rodrygo scored a fine opener four minutes after kickoff but Atletico slowly got into the game and Julian Alvarez equalised with a stunning strike in the 32nd minute.
Real got the winner in the 55th through Diaz, who worked his magic to find a tiny pocket of space inside a crowded box and slotted a low, angled strike inside Jan Oblak’s far post.
“I think we always had the balance throughout the game, despite going a bit down after their equaliser, but at any moment we can find a goal with the talent we have and that’s what we did,” Brahim told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus.
“Everything is still open in the tie. It’s good that we won at home, but it’s far from over. This is the Champions League and every little thing you do makes a difference.
“The goal was good, it helped us grab an important win on another magical night at the Bernabeu. But there is still the second leg.”
Brahim’s goal gave Real Madrid the edge in a hard-fought clash with Diego Simeone’s Atleti, who dominated proceedings for large stretches of the match and could easily have finished with a better result if they had made the most of their chances.
The hosts started better and Rodrygo gave them the lead after an outstanding pass by Federico Valverde that he took in his stride before rampaging inside the box past two defenders and curling a brilliant left-foot strike into the far corner.
Despite Real’s early dominance, the visitors managed to level the playing field by slowing the pace of the game and started to create chances through Samuel Lino and Giuliano Simeone, a constant menace running up and down the channels.
Atletico found the equaliser after Alvarez wrestled past Eduardo Camavinga on the left byline before cutting inside the box to give himself a better angle and unleashing a strike that curled past Thibaut Courtois and went in off the far post.
The visitors took control of possession and were comfortable passing the ball around amid loud booing from the sold-out Bernabeu crowd who did not hide their frustration.
Atletico began the second half well with Rodrigo de Paul wasting a chance to give them the lead in the 53rd minute, a costly miss as two minutes later Brahim worked his magic to put Real back in front with a goal out of nothing.
Surrounded by three opponents, the Morocco international worked some space with quick feet and left Atletico centre back Jose Maria Gimenez on the ground before slotting the ball inside the far corner, giving Oblak no chance.
Simeone appeared comfortable with the scoreline, replacing attacker Griezmann with centre back Robin Le Normand and switching to five at the back to make sure Real’s lead was no greater ahead of next week’s mouth-watering second leg.
“They scored the goals at the right moments,” Alvarez told Movistar Plus. “At times, we were in control of the game and could have seized the opportunities to hurt them…
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy… We were at their stadium… But there are still 90 minutes left and it will be on our ground,” he added.
The winners will surely meet Arsenal, who are in a virtually unassailable position to reach the quarter-finals with a 7-1 win at PSV Eindhoven in Tuesday’s first leg in the Netherlands.
Borussia Dortmund were left frustrated as the first leg of their tie with Lille ended in a 1-1 draw.
Karim Adeyemi took advantage of space on the edge of the box to fire the hosts in front in the 22nd minute and they thought they had a second just before half-time, but Pascal Gross’ header was ruled offside.
The hosts failed to take advantage of further chances before Lille equalised with their first shot on target in the 68th minute, with Hakon Haraldsson off-balance when he turned in Jonathan David’s pass.
Reuters
