Atletico Madrid beat Arsenal 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes for the opening International Champions Cup match in Singapore.
Atleti’s Luciano Vietto broke the deadlock at National Stadium with a headed goal from an Angel Correa cross four minutes before half-time, but the lead lasted just two second-half minutes thanks to a superb Emile Smith Rowe effort for the Gunners.
That was the extent of the goal scoring action until the penalty shootout, though, with both sides thwarted by good goalkeeping.
Arsenal coach Unai Emery and his players were probably relieved to see the back of Jan Oblak at the break — the goalkeeper was in typically dominant form during the opening 45 minutes, denying Arsenal on numerous occasions.
The humid conditions in Singapore hindered the spectacle in front of a relatively sparse crowd, particularly in the second half, which suffered further from the 63rd minute onwards after both sides made numerous changes — particularly Emery’s eight changes at once.
Antonio Adan, who replaced Oblak at half-time and conceded Smith Rowe’s wonderful finish almost immediately, turned hero in the penalty shootout — the summer signing saved three of the four penalties he faced and scored the winner himself in emphatic style.
Otherwise, Reiss Nelson and Matteo Guendouzi put in promising displays that will have encouraged Emery, while Simone will be satisfied by his team’s start to their ICC campaign.
About Antonio Adan the atletico Hero
He was born 13 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid as a goalkeeper.A youth product of Real Madrid, where he acted mainly as a backup, he spent most of his career with Betis.
All youth levels comprised, Adán won 39 caps for Spain
Real Madrid youth graduate,[Madrid-born Adán was the first-choice goalkeeper for its C-side in the 2005–06 season, playing 36 games and conceding 29 goals. He also started three games for the Juvenil team which won the Champions Cup of the category, keeping a clean sheet in the tournament.
The following campaign, Adán was selected for the first team’s United States tour in August 2006. He served as backup to captain Jordi Codina in Real Madrid Castilla, until the latter’s promotion to the main squad.
Adán made his debut in 2006–07’s second division on 27 August 2006, in a 1–1 draw away to CD Castellón. He contributed with six leagues matches as Real Madrid’s reserves were eventually relegated.
After the sale of Codina to neighbours Getafe CF, Adán was promoted to the senior side for pre-season training in the 2009–10 campaign. While still appearing mostly for the B’s, he was third-choice in the first team behind Iker Casillas and Jerzy Dudek.[4]
On 8 December 2010, Adán played his first official game for Real Madrid, coming on as a substitute for injured Dudek in the 44th minute of the 4–0 home win against AJ Auxerre, for the season’s UEFA Champions League: the Merengues had already won their group, and manager José Mourinho rested several starters; the following month, he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–2 loss at Levante UD for the campaign’s Copa del Rey (8–2 aggregate win).[6]
Adán made his La Liga debut on 13 February 2011, replacing sent off Casillas in the second minute of a 1–0 away victory over RCD Espanyol.[7] Starting in the following matchday, at home against Levante, he kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 success.[8]
On 22 December 2012, Adán relegated longtime incumbent Casillas to the bench in a 2–3 away loss to Málaga CF. Mourinho defended his controversial decision in his post-match comments by saying: “It’s a technical decision. The coach analyses the situation, looks at the players at his disposal and chooses his team. At the moment, for me and my coaching staff, Adán is better than Iker”;[9] he retained his position for the next game, being sent off in the early minutes of an eventual 4–3 home success against Real Sociedad after giving away a penalty
Adán returned to the Spanish capital on 10 July 2018, with the 31-year-old joining Atlético Madrid on a two-year contract.