Atletico Madrid Wins Copa Del Rey

Atletico Madrid won the Copa del Rey following a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in a wild encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Friday.

Diego Costa and Miranda scored for Atletico while Cristiano Ronaldo netted the only goal for Real Madrid.

It’s Atletico’s first win over its city rivals since October of 1999 in a match that saw both Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and Ronaldo sent off.

Both teams came sprinting out of the starting blocks as you would expect in a cup final but couldn’t create any clear-cut opportunities in the early going.

However, that would change in the 14th minute when Ronaldo was inexplicably left unmarked to head past Thibaut Courtois and give Real a 1-0 lead.

It was just the kind start that Real was looking for and a real blow to Atleti who wouldn’t have wanted to concede so early.

Mourinho’s men took their foot off the gas pedal though and let Atletico get back into the match. Falcao did ever so well to hold the ball up before splitting the Real defence to find Diego Costa in stride.

The Brazilian then unleashed a low shot that hit the post and went in to send the Atleti faithful into a frenzy.

Real Madrid turned it up a gear after the goal and came close to retaking the lead but Mesut Ozil’s low drive smacked the post much to the relief of the Atletico fans behind the goal.

It was an enjoyable first half at the Bernabeu and few could complain about 1-1 scoreline at the interval.

Real Madrid were extremely unlucky not to have reclaimed the lead in the 60th minute as Karim Benzema’s shot hit the post before Ronaldo’s follow-up was cleared off the line.

Real were left shaking their heads once more when Ronaldo’s free kick struck the woodwork in the 69th minute.

Real Madrid’s frustrations boiled over when Mourinho was dismissed in the 77th minute after having some choice words for the referee.

It was still anyone’s game but there were no scoring opportunities in the final moments, as extra time loomed large.

Real Madrid made a triple substitution at the start of extra time but it was Atletico who looked like the fresher side.

Diego Costa had two opportunities to beat Diego Lopez but the Real goalkeeper came up big in the 95th minute.

However, the keeper had no chance to keep out Miranda’s header at the near post just moments later.

Atletico now had a 2-1 lead and Real almost equalized right away but Gonzalo Higuain was stopped brilliantly by Courtois.

The Atleti keeper then made a heroic save when he deflected Ozil’s tap in from close range over the bar to keep his side ahead.

Things turned ugly late on when Ronaldo was shown a red card, which triggered a scuffle between a plethora of players on the touchline.

Courtois was also hit in the back of the head by a projectile as the scenes turned unsavory at the Bernabeu.

The final few minutes were relatively uneventful as Atletico Madrid won the Copa del Rey after an enthralling affair in the Spanish capital.