James Rodriguez Scores as Real Madrid Draw Atletico in First Leg of Spanish Super Cup

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could not be separated in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Real's new signing James Rodriquez seemed to have given his side a big boost when he netted a late goal at the Bernabeu, but Raul Garcia scored right at the death to keep Atletico's hopes alive in the second leg.

Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti made two changes to his side that claimed the UEFA Super Cup after beating Sevilla 2-0 in Cardiff. Xabi Alonso was given the nod ahead of Rodriguez, while Marcelo took up the left-back position, with Fabio Coentrao dropping to the bench.

Meanwhile, Diego Simeone, who lost a number of his star players this summer, also fielded a relatively strong side consisting of new striker Mario Mandžukić, Koke, Gabi, Mario Suarez, Raul Garcia, Miranda, with their other new signing Antoine Griezmann starting from the bench.

The game started with Real Madrid looking more energetic as they forced Atletico to their own half. Some rash challenges from Koke and Guilherme Siqueira resulted in them both getting booked very early on in the game.

The first real chance of the game fell to Mandzukic, who tested Iker Casillas with a long-range effort. However, the Spain captain stood up to the test as he made a comfortable save to deny the former Bayern Munich striker.

Moments later Saul got a very good opportunity as he took advantage of a mistake from Sergio Ramos and fired an effort towards goal. However, in the end, his shot, which was straight at Casillas, was easily saved by the Real Madrid goalkeeper.

Towards the end of the first half, Mandzukic got another opportunity after Casillas' clearance went straight to him. The Croatian striker attempted a chipped effort but the ball went straight into the goalkeeper's hands.

Only two minutes into the second half, Gareth Bale nearly broke the deadlock as he burst into the box and forced a save out of Atletico goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya from a tight angle.

Moya was again tested by Bale in the 68^th minute as he kept out a well struck freekick from the Welshman. The rebound fell to Toni Kroos, but the German was unable to keep his effort down as the ball flew over the crossbar.

Ten minutes later Karim Benzema did brilliantly to meet a corner but his header went over the crossbar.

Finally, with only nine minutes of normal time remaining, Real broke the deadlock through Rodriguez, who had come on as a substitute for Cristiano Ronaldo, at halftime.

Daniel Carvajal's cross was poorly handled by Miranda and Juanfran, and this gave Rodriguez a chance to squeeze the ball home from close range.

Real's joy, however, was very short-lived as Atletico came right back into the game through Garcia in the 88^th minute. Some very poor defending from the Los Blancos allowed Garcia to bundle home a corner, keeping Atletico's Spanish Super Cup dreams well and truly alive.