Forlan lifts Atletico to brink of final, February 4th.

Diego Forlan scored twice from the penalty spot as Atletico Madrid claimed a commanding 4-0 victory in the opening leg of their Copa del Rey semi final with Racing Santander.

The Rojiblancos were aiming to silence their critics, having been booed off by their fans at the weekend in a 2-0 Primera Division loss to Malaga. And it took just nine minutes for Simao to fire Atletico in front with a first-time strike into the roof of the net.

Jose Antonio Reyes then doubled the lead five minutes before the interval, tapping home from close range after the Racing defence had failed to clear the ball. Forlan scored the first of his penalties after 62 minutes, although replays suggested Toni Moral’s challenge on Jose Manuel Jurado took place outside of the area.

But there was no doubt over the second spot-kick eight minutes later, with Forlan again providing the finish after Sergio Aguero was sent to ground by Marc Torrejon. Aguero should have added a fifth three minutes into stoppage time but he somehow turned Tomas Ujfalusi’s inviting cross past the left post from a few yards out. Sevilla hold a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Getafe in the other semi-final.

Posted by Carbonero on 2010 Feb 08 Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.