Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have finished goalless in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Vicente Calderon this evening.
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Gareth Bale had a chance to open the scoring inside the first five minutes when he forced his way into the penalty area before firing towards the Atletico goal, but Jan Oblak was ready to deny the Welshman.
The home side's keeper had to remain alert early on as Cristiano Ronaldo lined up a free kick for the defending European champions, but Oblak made a diving save to deny the forward.
Although Atletico started to see more of the ball as the first half progressed, it was still Real that looked the most likely going forward as Ronaldo tried to set up Karim Benzema, but the French striker was crowded out in the box.
Oblak pulled off a few more saves before the interval, denying Bale and James Rodriguez with long-range efforts after the half-hour mark.
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The visitors could have slipped behind just before the half-time whistle though when Sergio Ramos gave the ball away, resulting in a chance for Antoine Griezmann, but his shot was straight at Iker Casillas.
Atletico made a bright start to the second half as Juanfran crossed the ball in for Arda Turan, but the midfielder's header was well wide of the post.
Bale had to help out at the back as Atletico continued to push, but the forward blocked a shot from Guilherme Siqueira, leaving Ronaldo to push down the other end looking for Benzema, but his first touch was lacking.
The hosts continued to see the majority of the possession as the final 20 minutes approached, but Casillas remained relatively untested between the posts.
Real were on the attack again in the 70th minute, but Benzema chose to pass rather than shoot while in space, giving the hosts time to crowd out Bale and Ronaldo.
Raul Garcia came off the bench late on as Atletico chased a goal, but he was unable to reach a cross into the box from Koke, leaving the ball to go out for a goal kick.
Luka Modric provided some late pressure for the visitors, but his finish went well high, while Fernando Torres wanted a penalty down the other end moments later when he went down under a challenge from Ramos, but the referee did not think that there was enough contact.
Having had little to do all night, Casillas made an error late on, failing to punch a cross clear to leave Torres scrambling in towards a loose ball, but he could not reach it in time, leaving the sides level ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu.
Sian Cowper
