Report: Dismal night at the Cartagonova | OneFootball

Following the goalless draw against Atlético Sanluqueño, Atlético Madrileño visited FC Cartagena on their home turf, in search of another 3 points away from the capital. A victory that hasn't been achieved since that win at Betis Deportivo's home ground back in early December 2024...

Torres' team lined up as follows: Mario de Luis; Javier Boñar, Aleksa Puric, Mati Barboza, Adrián Corral; Javi Serrano, Martín Bellotti; Iker Luque, Jano Monserrate, Koke Mota; Omar Janneh. Changes in the starting eleven due to the absences of Salvador Esquivel, Julio Díaz, Rayane Belaid and Darío Sits, along with Sergio Esteban who, despite belonging to Atleti C, is first on the list of forwards to be promoted to the reserve team.

The first half could be said to have been even, but with very positive feelings for the red and whites overall. Despite the struggles of Boñar defending against Kevin Sánchez, and the minimal contribution of Jano Monserrate and Omar Janneh, the rest of the team performed at a very good level. The pair of centre-backs were again reliable, Mario de Luis made good saves and Iker Luque attacked all possible spaces when it was time to transition. The goal came from the left foot of a Adrián Corral who was correct in both phases and, after a corner, sent a precise ball to the head of Puric for the Serbian giant to put the team ahead.

The joy was short-lived, as after a faulty clearance, Pablo Larrea latched onto a volley to make it 1-1. A cold shower on the brink of half time that was worsened by the start of the second half, where the team dropped in performance and pace and suffered several setbacks. First, with the non-existent penalty by Koke Mota ratified by the VAR (what a night it gave us along with the refereeing team...). Then, just after converting the 2-1, Kevin Sánchez took advantage of a glaring error by Mario de Luis for the 3-1 and it felt like the game, at least, could end there.

Torres made his move introducing Javi Morcillo, Ilias Kostis, Javier Aznar (debutant), Miguel Cubo and Arnau Ortiz. While the first two, especially Morcillo, made things even worse, Aznar showed determination and a desire to turn the situation around while Cubo, in his few interventions, constantly generated danger with a shot to the post included...and Arnau had a somewhat unbeatable debut. Recovery, solo run from his own half, cut inside in the small area and goal to reduce the deficit.

In one of the last plays of the match, the equalising goal was close. After successive dribbles from the winger recently arrived from Poland, the former Girona player sent a measured cross for Mario de Luis to head unfortunately into the hands of Lucho García. The draw was really close, which would have meant a point with the taste of three.

With this defeat, Atlético Madrileño has only 1 point from a possible 6, and will host Real Murcia in Alcalá de Henares next Sunday, September 14 at 12:00.

THE GOOD

Iker Luque and Arnau Ortiz.

THE UGLY

The new VAR (or FVS, as the experts say) and the constant time wasting in reviews.

THE BAD

The team's play in the second half.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.