Fernando Torres scored his first Atletico Madrid goals in eight years as the La Liga champions dumped holders Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey 4-2 on aggregate, after a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Thursday.
Already leading 2-0 from last week’s first leg, Torres stunned the hosts inside the first minute, turning home Antoine Griezmann’s pass to hand Atletico a vital away goal.
Sergio Ramos pulled a goal back for Real Madrid, but Griezmann and Torres repeated the trick just seconds into the second half to restore Atletico Madrid’s lead.
Photo: AFP
Fresh from winning the third Ballon d’Or of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the home side at least salvaged a draw on the night, but they have now failed to beat Atletico in five meetings this season.
Atletico face Barcelona in the quarter-finals after the Catalans completed a 9-0 aggregate win over Elche, as goals from Jeremy Mathieu, Sergi Roberto, Pedro Rodriguez and Adriano sealed a 4-0 victory on the night at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Torres was only starting due to an illness suffered by Mario Mandzukic on the day before the game, but had by far his biggest impact since returning to the Spanish capital.
“I am very happy. It was a game in which we had to feel comfortable due to the result in the first leg and the early goal allowed us to play the game we wanted,” Torres told Canal Plus. “The tie was never in danger. We didn’t have to sweat it out.”
Meanwhile, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti was left to lament the defensive errors that undid much of his side’s fine attacking play in the first hour.
“I am delighted with how the team played in the first half. You can’t play better,” the Italian coach said. “The worry doesn’t come from not taking our chances, because we played with pace and intensity. The worry comes from the defensive mistakes we made.”
Ronaldo paraded the Ballon d’Or in front of an adoring full house at the Santiago Bernabeu prior to kickoff, but it took just 46 seconds for Atletico to silence the home fans as Griezmann broke down the left and squared for Torres to turn home his first Atletico goal since May 2007.
Real then laid siege to the Atletico goal in search of the four goals they needed to progress to the last eight.
Gareth Bale saw a flicked header easily held by Jan Oblak, while the Slovenian was on hand to somehow prevent Ronaldo turning home Karim Benzema’s knock-down moments later.
However, Atletico’s second-choice goalkeeper was at fault when the hosts leveled after 20 minutes, as he got nowhere near Toni Kroos’ free-kick and Ramos gratefully headed into an empty net.
Mario Suarez made a desperate clearance from just in front of his own goal-line to prevent Ronaldo giving Madrid the lead and Oblak made a smart low save from Marcelo as the visitors held on until halftime.
Incredibly, Atletico Madrid struck again within a minute of the restart in similar fashion as Ramos gifted the ball to Griezmann, who fed Torres and he cut inside Pepe to slot home his second goal of the night.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker could even have had a hat-trick moments later when he wriggled past Ramos inside the penalty area, but Griezmann took the loose ball from his teammate and smashed his shot just wide.
Ronaldo restored parity on the night for Carlo Ancelotti’s men when he stooped to head in Bale’s cross from the left nine minutes after the break.
Benzema had one final chance to set up a grandstand finish, but he blasted a volley over from close range to ensure Real’s winless streak against Diego Simeone’s men continued.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS