Cádiz CF’s clash with Atlético Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano saw their sensational run of positive away results come to an end. Los Colchoneros ran out 4-0 winners and found themselves in the driving seat very early on, having taken the lead in the eighth minute after capitalising on defensive indecision. However, Cádiz never stopped fighting to get something from the game.
Cádiz make strong start, stay faithful to their style
Álvaro Cervera’s men sought to catch Atlético out straight from the kick-off. Referee Adrián Cordero Vega blew his whistle, the ball was played out to the right and Salvi Sánchez set off at speed to get to the byline, sending in a cross that forced the home defence to concede the first corner of the match. It came to nothing, however.
Defensive error allows Atleti to open the scoring through João Félix
With Cervera’s side set up to allow the hosts the majority of the ball and challenge them to do something with it, Atlético soon began to show the quality they possess. Indeed, they got themselves ahead at the first time of asking, albeit they benefited from a stroke of luck in the process.
The goal came about through a breakdown in communication between Conan Ledesma and Fali as they sought to deal with a cross to the back of the box from the midfield. Determined to claim the ball, the Argentine goalkeeper came out almost to the left-hand edge of the area, where he collided with Fali, who was preparing to clear. The loose ball fell to Marcos Llorente, who controlled and hung a cross into the box that João Félix headed in.
Cádiz remained faithful to their style, but the side’s commitment to winning the ball back and launching quick breaks now came with a new objective: drawing level. With the Submarino Amarillo lying in wait for the chance to counter, Atlético enjoyed long spells of possession and regularly found themselves in areas around the away penalty box.
Llorente scores Atlético’s second midway through the first half
Boosted by Félix’s opener, Atlético looked confident and their second goal didn’t take long to arrive. In a move down the right, Kieran Trippier cut the ball back to Llorente, who won a 50-50 with Alex Fernández before firing a right-footed shot that squirmed in at the near post, via the only gap that Ledesma had left.
Fali has a chance to cut the gap before the half-hour mark
Cádiz could have halved the deficit and got themselves firmly back into the game, but Fali was unable to find the target with a header from Salvi’s right-wing corner. Having fought tooth and nail to get on the end of the cross, the defender’s effort flew over, much to his despair.
In the minutes just before the break, Álex also had a notable chance to test Atleti keeper Jan Oblak with a shot from just outside of the area, but the midfielder sent his strike over the crossbar.
Cádiz come flying out of the traps in the second half…
Cádiz made as determined a start to the second half as they had in the first, and in the opening exchanges of the period, Cervera’s side looked incisive, attacking with pace and penetration down the left and with Álvaro Negredo threatening the Atleti backline.
Suárez goal nips Cádiz’s reaction in the bud after a long VAR wait
However, Atlético grabbed their third goal of the game with a quick counter-attack that saw Félix play in Luis Suárez, who fired in an angled left-footed finish past Ledesma. The strike took a while to be given, as the move had to be checked by VAR because the Uruguayan had possibly received the ball in an offside position. He was finally deemed to have been on.
Cádiz refuse to give in and continue to look for a way through
Los Cadistas never lost heart despite finding themselves with a significant deficit to make up, and persisted in trying to create openings in and around Oblak’s goal.
Jairo let fly with a dangerous drive that the goalkeeper held on to, and shortly afterwards Fali delivered a cross that threatened to find its way into the Slovenian’s net, forcing the custodian into action again.
Before the night was over, Diego Simeone’s side rounded off the scoring with a fourth. Cádiz never gave in at any point, but their efforts were not rewarded with a goal that might have served to sow uncertainty in the Atlético ranks.
