NEW YORK, July 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Diego Costa scored four goals as
Atletico Madrid embarrassed La Liga rivals Real Madrid 7-3 Friday in a pre-
season friendly at MetLife Stadium.
Costa had a hat-trick by halftime and added one more goal before he was
sent off in the 63rd, when both teams were reduced to 10 men after a testy
shoving match.
The first meeting outside of Europe between the Madrid rivals proved a
dismal night for Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid, who saw Serbian starlet Luka
Jovic hobble off after an awkward collision with Atletico keeper Jan Oblak in
the 24th minute.
Zidane can only hope the news on his injury will be better than that on
Marco Asensio, who could miss most if not all of the La Liga season after
rupturing a knee ligament against Arsenal on Tuesday.
Portuguese 19-year-old Joao Felix, signed from Benfica this month for 126
million euros ($142 million), scored his first goal for Atletico, and helped
set up two more.
Angel Correa also scored for Atletico, who had run the score to 5-0 at
halftime and 6-0 before Real Madrid got one on the scoreboard before a packed
house at the East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the NFL’s New York Jets and
New York Giants.
Costa set the tone in the first minute. Put through in the area by Felix he
fired across his body to make it 1-0.
Felix struck in the eighth, slotting home a ball that was cut back to him
by Saul Niguez.
Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois could only watch Correa’s 19th-minute
blast into the bottom left corner.
Costa bagged his second to make it 4-0 in the 28th, Saul winning the ball
after a poor pass from Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos and sending a pass for
Costa.
Costa made it 5-0 on the stroke of halftime, converting from the penalty
spot after he was brought down in the area by Isco.
Atletico’s lead swelled to 6-0 in the 51st minute when Costa teamed with
Felix for his fourth of the night, Felix slotting a pass through Real
Madrid’s defence for Costa to arc over Keylor Navas.
Eden Hazard helped Real Madrid pull back a goal in the 59th with a cross
that Nacho bundled over the line.
Minutes later Daniel Carvajal’s late challenge on Thomas Lemar saw tempers
flare, with both Costa and Carvajal sent off.
Undeterred, Atletico grabbed their seventh goal in the 70th thanks’ to a
superb solo run by Vitolo, who seized the ball from two defenders and beat
two more to score.
Karim Benzema converted an 85th-minute penalty and Javi Hernandez scored in
the 89th to trim the deficit, but there was little for Real Madrid to be
proud of. Welsh star Gareth Bale — reportedly on the verge of a lucrative
move to Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning — was sent on with less
than half an hour remaining but couldn’t provide a spark.