Atletico Madrid 1 Racing Santander 1, Vicente Calderon, La Liga, 12/September/09.

Atletico Madrid failed to take advantage of an entire half against ten men, as they were held to a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderon.Jose Jurado scored just before the break, but his effort was soon canceled out by Oscar Serrano, to earn Racing a point.Abel Resino decided to keep Maxi Rodriguez and Diego Forlan on the bench, after their exerting South American fixtures during the international break. Racing Santander, meanwhile, lined up as expected, with Alex Geijo partnering Pedro Munitis upfront. Both sides came into the game after disappointing three goal defeats on the opening day, and it was the home side who had the first chance, with Cleber Santana seeing his shot saved by Tono. The visitors were struggling to get into the game, but on 20 minutes, they almost broke the deadlock completely against the run of play, when Geijo shot straight at Sergio Asenjo with the rest of the goal gaping. With Forlan on the bench, Sergio Aguero was Atleti's main threat, and he gave Racing a warning with an attempted chip that Tono did well to hold on to. Los Colchoneros were the dominant force, and just as it looked like the first half would end goalless, Jurado broke the deadlock, unleashing an unstoppable drive from Simao's corner. However, Atleti do have a tendency to make things complicated, and they duly conceded an equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Receiving the ball in the box, Manuel Arana picked out Serrano, who made no mistake in slotting past Asenjo. Racing may have ended the first half on a high, but they began the second in disastrous fashion, as Jose Crespo was sent off for bringing down Simao, while adjudged to be the last man. Atleti were now dominating completely thanks to the man advantage, and Forlan, who had replaced Aguero at the break, was twice denied by Tono.Despite the advantage, Atleti looked strangely underwhelming, and while they continued to monopolize possession, they were hardly seriously threatening Tono's goal. It was a tame finish to the match, as Los Rojiblancos ultimately failed to make their advantage count. Both sides now have a point for the season, but Racing will certainly be the happier in the end.