New signing James Rodriguez scored his first goal for Real Madrid but a
late Raul Garcia equaliser for Atletico Madrid saw the first leg of the
Spanish Super Cup finish 1-1.
Played in Colombia and Argentina before signing for Porto in
2010, scoring 32 goals in 105 games and winning three Portuguese titles
and the Europa League
Joined Monaco in 2013, scoring 10 times in 38 appearances
Scored six times for Colombia at the 2014 World Cup finals to win the Golden Boot
Signed for Real Madrid on a six-year contract for a
fee reported to be £65m, making him the fourth most expensive player in
history
Gareth Bale twice went close for Carlo Ancelotti's
side, first seeing an angled drive saved by Miguel Angel Moya and then
testing the keeper again with a fiercely struck free-kick.
Moya was unable to hold the Welshman's effort but new
Real signing Toni Kroos
was unable to convert the rebound.
However, World Cup winner Kroos was involved in the
opening goal, the Germany international playing in Daniel Carvajal to
cross low into the box.
Karim Benzema's shot was then blocked but the ball fell
for Rodriguez, who steered it home from eight yards out on 80 minutes.
That looked likely to give Real the advantage going
into the return leg at the Vicente Calderon stadium but Atletico again
showed their resilience to hit back.
Diego Simeone's side, who have
lost the services of Diego Costa,
Filipe Luis, David Villa and Thibaut Courtois since their defeat by
Real in the Champions League final, were unbeaten against both Real and
Barcelona last season.
And they extended that record when Garcia flicked the ball past Iker Casillas from inside the six-yard box.
Cristiano Ronaldo played only
the first 45 minutes before going off with a suspected back injury to
be replaced by James Rodriguez
Manager Carlo Ancelotti decided not to take any chances on Ronaldo's fitness
James Rodriguez replaced Ronaldo and enjoyed a near-perfect debut with his first goal for the club
Gareth Bale completed the 90 minutes for the Champions League winners and twice went close to scoring
Raul Garcia's away goal gave Atletico a possible edge going into Friday's second leg
Aaron Ramsey was sent off as Arsenal fought out a goalless draw away
at Besiktas in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie.
Ex-Chelsea striker Demba Ba gave the Gunners a scare when he hit the bar from the halfway line from kick-off.
But Arsenal, bidding to reach the group stage for a 17th consecutive season, also had chances in an open game.
After Ramsey saw red for a second booking, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his shot turned on to the post.
The England international had surged into the box from
the right wing in the 88th minute and it took a brilliant diving save
from Tolga Zengin to deny him.
Defeat would have been harsh on a Besiktas side who
took the game to the Gunners from the start, and they will deservedly
travel to north London next week with the tie in the balance.
Arsenal's record in Champions League qualifiers
Arsenal had won all 12 of their previous Champions League
qualifying games, scoring 29 goals and conceding only three, while
keeping nine clean sheets. They beat Fenerbahce 3-0 in the first leg of
their play-off last season, again in Istanbul, going on to win 5-0 on
aggregate.
The Turkish team's own ground is being rebuilt so the match was played at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the scene of
Liverpool's famous comeback to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.
The drama on this occasion was in no way comparable
with that epic encounter, but the attacking approach of both sides made
for an entertaining game, despite Wenger voicing his concern about the
playing surface before kick-off.
Ba set the tone inside the first five seconds with his
effort from the halfway line that had Wojciech Szczesny scrambling
backwards and stretching to reach the ball as it came back against the
woodwork.
The former Chelsea striker,
who almost joined the Gunners last summer,
went close again soon afterwards with a thumping volley that brought a fine reaction stop from Szczesny.
Arsenal, who began their Premier League campaign with a
scrappy win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, were also finding some joy
when they went forward.
New signing Alexis Sanchez, in particular, was finding
lots of space down the right but Olivier Giroud was having a frustrating
time up front.
The visitors did not force Zengin into a save until the
39th minute when Jack Wilshire tried to bend the ball into the top
corner from the edge of the area.
Besiktas continued to attack and were almost gifted an
opener when Calum Chambers, otherwise solid on his Champions League
debut, slipped and let Ba in to fire a low shot wide.
Some more poor Arsenal defending, this time by Mathieu
Debuchy, let Olcay Sahan in after half-time, but he curled his shot off
target.
The chances dried up as the game entered the last half
hour but Ramsey's dismissal, after the Welshman was cautioned twice for
tugging players back, appeared to give the home side a late boost with
10 minutes to go.
Instead it was Arsenal who went closest to snatching
victory through Oxlade-Chamberlain, before Besiktas' Croatian boss
Slaven Bilic, the former Everton and West Ham defender, was sent to the
stands for complaining once too often to the officials.
He and Ramsey are both set to miss the second leg, at Emirates Stadium on 27 August.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Besiktas head coach Slaven Bilic before kick-off
Jack Wilshere had Arsenal's first shot on target after 39 minutes
Aaron Ramsey walks off after being shown a red card with 10 minutes to go
Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain went close to scoring a late winner
Besiktas head coach Bilic was sent off for arguing with the officials
Full Time Second Half ends, Besiktas 0, Arsenal 0.
90:00 +2:40 Delay over. They are ready to continue. 90:00 +2:05 Delay in match Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) because of an injury. 90:00 +1:42 Attempt blocked. Kerim Koyunlu (Besiktas) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. 90:00 +0:28 Pedro Franco (Besiktas) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 90:00 +0:28 Foul by Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). 89:54 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Arsenal. Tomas Rosicky replaces Santiago Cazorla.
88:04 Attempt blocked. Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. 87:58
Attempt saved. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) left footed shot
from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. 87:30 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Besiktas. Cenk Tosun replaces Mustafa Pektemek.
86:03
Attempt missed. Calum Chambers (Arsenal) header from the centre of
the box misses to the left. Assisted by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a
cross following a corner. 85:36 Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Kerim Koyunlu. 82:38 Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Ramon. 82:05 Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 82:05 Foul by Necip Uysal (Besiktas). 80:20 Substitution
New signing James Rodriguez scored his first goal for Real Madrid but a
late Raul Garcia equaliser for Atletico Madrid saw the first leg of the
Spanish Super Cup finish 1-1.
