. Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez lamented the two points his team dropped against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid after a disappointing 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderon.
The Madrid-born manager insisted that his team made a lot of mistakes and could have sealed the three points with a second goal. The first half saw both sides create chances, but Madrid could take only one out of the six chances they had.
The breakthrough came in the 9th minute when Karim Benzema got on the end of a cross from Carvajal, and headed brilliantly past Oblak. Real dominated the first half in terms of possession, but couldn’t break Atletico’s resistance again. The game was quite evenly matched on chances, with Antonio Griezmann having the best one to score the equaliser from the penalty spot.
The game lacked penetration from both teams, and for a good part of the second half, nothing was happening. The hosts finally got their equaliser in the 84th minute when Luciano Vietto scored his first goal for the club as he bundled home from 2 yards.
Benitez laments two points dropped
Benitez said his side could have killed the game off in the first half, if it wasn’t for the poor finishing.
“We have dropped two points,” Benitez was quoted saying by ESPN FC at the post match press conference. “We were ahead and we have made mistakes, with the penalty and the goal. We lacked precision on the break. We could have scored a second goal in the first half.”
Defends his tactics
Benitez suggested his tactics were spot on and while his team executed them perfectly, they lacked the accuracy in the final third.
“We must give credit to Atletico, who were intense. We did not finish off our counters. In the first half we played to win, we dominated and controlled the game knowing what we had to do. In the second half they put in more intensity, and we had eight counterattacks, but were not accurate with the last or penultimate pass.”
“We lacked a bit of freshness on the left wing, it was a about adjusting things with Bale’s speed and to put Cristiano, who is a threat, up front,” Rafa said. “That way we balanced the team.”
On Carvjal’s injury
Benitez also commented on Carvjal’s injury the right back picked up in the first half.
“[Carvajal] has twisted his knee,” Benitez said. “We will have to see how it recovers.”