Ronaldo injured as Atletico Madrid deny James Rodriguez perfect debut
Portuguese star goes off at half time; Rodriguez puts Real ahead but city rivals grab valuable away goal
A Raul Garcia equaliser two minutes from time denied James Rodriguez a dream home debut for Real Madrid as Atletico Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Tuesday.
Rodriguez had surprisingly started on the bench, but replaced Cristiano Ronaldo at half-time when the World Player of the Year was substituted due to a muscle injury.
Colombian World Cup star Rodriguez opened the scoring with his first goal for Real 10 minutes from time.
However, Atletico got a precious away goal to take into the return leg at the Vicente Calderon on Friday when Garcia flicked home a late corner from close range.
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti did though allay fears that Ronaldo’s injury could rule him out for a prolonged period of time.
“He had a strain after the first-half and he wasn’t comfortable. We will evaluate him tomorrow and do all the proper checks, but it doesn’t appear anything too serious,” said the Italian.