Was that a clue to our fate? The back page advert on the Atletico Madrid programme was for sufferers of erectile disfunction, after the poor defensive show in the 3-1 away defeat, a win for Valladolid and a draw for Malaga, it’s looking like a stiff challenge to stay up.
Diving in a taxi and heading for the Atletico ground we had one eye on being cautious in enemy territory but getting out at a bar  just down from the stadium we let rip with a chorus of “Chicharrero de Corazon” which was warmly greeted by the friendly home fans. Into the stadium and up into the top tier, it was clear that this was going to be a near 50,000 full house. Some sky divers parachuted onto the pitch before the teams came out as the 500 CD Tenerife fans turned up the volume.
Atletico had Diego Forlan on the bench and gave a full debut to 19 year old Salvio and he really grabbed his chance. It took just 10 minutes for Aguero to sting Sergio in the Tenerife goal and Salvio pounced to crack the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead. Atletico looked strong, former Arsenal player Reyes was tormenting Hector and the CDT defence looked shaky. There was worse to come on the half hour as Varela burst forward on the right and delivered a great pass for Salvio to make it 2-0. Aragonoses was kep busy and made some strong saves as Atletico kept up the pressure.
Tenerife came out more determined in the second half, Dinei came on for Juanlu and added some punch to the attack. The sub set up Roman who continued his hot form by calmly firing the ball past the home keeper. It was enough to make Atletico worry and they brought on Forlan and Simao who were benched with the Europa Cup second leg with Liverpool in mind. Â Forlan was instumental in the third Madrid goal but it was Aguero who easily beat Sicilia and then placed the ball past Sergio. That killed off any Tenerife comeback hopes, the travelling fans did their best to lift the team but there was no way back.
Streaming out of the stadium we all got a bit seperated, my group started heading out of town before cutting back onto one of the main streets back up to the city centre. Needing a taxi we stopped at a bar for much needed beer and chatted to some local fans, all the ones we met were very welcoming and friendly even if the waiter was a miserable git and wouldn’t phone a taxi for us. We found that standing out in the busy road eventually worked and we sped back to our Irish bar for more beer and and chat with many of the other CDT fans. Sadly all good trips must come to an end and with 4am taxis ordered for the morning we headed back to the hotel.
It’s going to be tough to claw our way to safety in the last 4 games but there is always hope. As for Madrid, it was a cracking weekend and we will be back for more fun and games, whatever division we are in.