Well, That Wasn’t So Easy…

By: Al | October 2nd, 2008

Atlético Madrid 2 – Olympique de Marseille 1

Aguero (4′)
Niang (16′)
Raúl García (22′)

We won and got the important 3 points in our Champions League group, but it wasn’t a cakewalk. After kickoff, Marseille immediately moved the ball down the flanks and almost scored. They didn’t travel to Madrid just to see themselves lose. They fought hard, and throughout the match they had very good shots that were saved well by the Argentine Quentin Tarantino (Leo Franco).

The first Atlético goal was classic Agüero, as he faked out the defender and slotted the ball in. Another example of how deadly this guy is; if he’s not marked well, he will score.

Marseille was able to score twelve minutes later after Laurent Bonnart gave a great cross to an unmarked Niang. Leo Franco had no chance; Niang was open and the goal was inevitable.

Atlético began to step it up and started moving the ball much more and passing it to Agüero. The Marseille defenders did well to shut down Agüero, as he was being knocked down and having the ball snatched from him a few times.

Agüero was given a harsh tackle by Taiwo and was taken off the field for quick recovery, but won the team the free kick that would end up being a goal. The free kick was a precise cross by Maxi in which Raúl García was able to stick his foot in and claim the goal.

Maxi and Raúl García were easily the men of the match. They caused trouble to Marseille with great passes and shots on goal, and were all over the place. In the second half, Maxi almost scored with a back-heel shot that went past the Marseille keeper but went to the left of the post. Incredible skill!

Perea was the best defender of the night, as he was able to mark Ziang well and was able to keep up with the match better than the other defenders. Ujfalusi and Heitinga made the center of the defense look very vulnerable and it was difficult to keep pace. Pernia didn’t do too shabby either, as he marked Valbuena well.

Also, coach Aguirre must really, really dislike Valbuena. As Valbuena was tackled and brought down in front of him, Aguirre was yelling at him and going bananas. He did it again in the second half.

Maniche was brought in as a sub for Sinama-Pongolle but didn’t do much. He’ll do much better on the weekend against Barcelona, but he just couldn’t get into the game.

In the final ten minutes of the match, Marseille commanded the game and moved the ball quickly down the field looking to equalize. They exploded and had many shots on goal. It was almost scary, especially when Niang had an excellent shot in which Leo Franco could only reach the ball with his fingertips.

In the end, Marseille was very unfortunate and deserved a draw. They will probably do well against PSV and will be deadly when we visit them at the Velodrome. Marseille proved that they can play a hell of a match, and this match was a glimpse of what they have in store for us in Matchday 5.

On Saturday, we will visit the Camp Nou to face Barcelona and I’m confident that we can produce a result.

For the ladies, Lotte Cox has an entry on Kun at HABs Offside.

Aupa Atleti!

Some more match pictures: