Diouf goal helps Bolton edge out ten-man Atletico Madrid
Bolton edge out Atletico
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Thursday, 14, Feb 2008 11:26
A single goal from El-Hadji Diouf gave Bolton Wanderers a memorable victory over ten-man Atletico Madrid at the Reebok Stadium.
Though Gary Megson gave European debuts to new recruits Gary Cahill and Matt Taylor, his side were on the back foot for much of the game.
Atletico, currently sitting fourth in the Spanish league and boasting the attacking talents of Jose Antonio Reyes and Diego Forlan, looked dangerous from set pieces and Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was forced to make a particularly memorable point-blank stop from a bullet header by Antonio Lopez.
Bolton then nearly gifted the visitors a valuable away goal through a lack of understanding between Jaaskelainen and Andy O'Brien, though the defender eventually managed to scramble the ball away.
After sustained pressure from the away side, the game turned against them just after the hour when freshly-introduced striker Aguero was shown a straight red card for spitting.
Bolton were quick to take advantage of their numerical superiority as Diouf popped up to poke home from six yards out to give his team the advantage going into the second leg at the Estadio la Peineta in a fortnight's time.
The victory follows Bolton's impressive away draw against German league leaders Bayern Munich in the group stages, meaning they will travel to Spain with confidence of getting a result.