Champions Atletico held, while Real grind down Cordoba

Real Madrid got their La Liga campaign off to a winning start as they beat newly promoted Cordoba 2-0 at home, but champions Atletico Madrid were held 0-0 away to Rayo Vallecano.

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Cristiano Ronaldo pleads for a penalty. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:19am, 26 Aug 2014

Champions Atletico Madrid made a sluggish start to the defence of their La Liga title with a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano, while a header from Karim Benzema and a late Cristiano Ronaldo strike helped Real Madrid beat promoted Cordoba 2-0.

Mario Mandzukic missed two clear chances in the first half for Atletico, whose Spanish Super Cup victory last Friday over Real appeared to take its toll as the players looked fatigued in the second half.

“The team played very well, they could have scored in the first half and later what happened is normal. We played Tuesday and Friday last week and put in all that effort,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said.

“We were better in the first half and had three clear chances and Rayo improved in the second half and caused us problems.”

Atletico's Raul Gimenez beats Rayo's Tito to the ball during their 0-0 stalemate at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid. Photo: AP

Simeone was absent from the touchline due to a ban from last season and he has been given a further eight-match sanction on Monday for his dismissal and angry reaction in the Super Cup.

Atletico were missing in-form Raul Garcia in attack through suspension and was replaced by Raul Jimenez while midfielder Arda Turan was still injured.

Rayo had a number of new faces but they continued the same possession-based style from last season and also looked more solid at the back.