The 2014 Spanish Super Cup is delicately poised ahead of the second leg following a 1-1 draw between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening.

James Rodriguez handed Los Blancos the lead with little under 10 minutes remaining.

However, a late flick from Raul Garcia makes it advantage Atletico ahead of the second leg at the Vicente Calderon on Friday.

Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two capital rivals.

Match statistics

Real Madrid
Shots: 19
On target: 4
Possession: 70%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 11

Atletico Madrid
Shots: 8
On target: 5
Possession: 30%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 20

Was the result fair?

For all Real Madrid's possession and attacking football this evening, it was Atletico that arguably created the better opportunities, especially in the first period. For long spells it did appear that the two managers would have to settle for a goalless draw, which in truth, would not have been a bad result for either team. Los Blancos looked to have nicked it late on, but such is Atletico's staying power, the league champions responded as they often did last season.

The statistics will point to a match dominated by the home side, but that was not really the case, with Atletico comfortable defensively for long spells. A large section of the second period was a slight non-event, with the referee forced to intervene following a host of altercations. Neither side really did enough to deserve to claim a first-leg advantage and a 1-1 draw is therefore a fair result.

Real Madrid's performance

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti named a three-man midfield this evening, with Xabi Alonso coming into the team alongside Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. As a result, it was not really a surprise that Los Blancos dominated the ball for long spells. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, had a disappointing first period and was forced to depart at the interval with a back problem. It didn't quite happen for Gareth Bale or Karim Benzema either, with the attacking pair frustrated by the Atletico defence.

It was a match that the home side controlled for long spells, especially in relation to possession, but they were sloppy in front of goal, with Atletico stopper Miguel Moya not called into action on too many occasions. They were the better side in the final 15 minutes and rightly took the lead through summer signing James, but it was really poor defending for the Atletico equaliser. Ancelotti still has a few things to work on in the months ahead.

Atletico Madrid's performance

The likes of Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis might have all departed this summer, but Atletico will once again be major challengers in Spain and indeed Europe this season. The main reason for that is their boss Diego Simeone, who is tactically outstanding, especially in big away matches. Atletico allowed the home side to dominate the ball this evening, but restricted their capital rivals to very few chances in the first period. That was also the case for much of the second period, although Madrid did up the tempo late on.

Atletico played exactly the same system as last season, with Mario Mandzukic now the leading forward following Costa's move to Chelsea. It was a team without the inspirational Arda Turan, but Saul Niguez impressed on his debut. They have lost key players this summer, but with such a stable back four and the likes of Antoine Griezmann coming in, it promises to be another exciting season for the La Liga champions.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Toni Kroos: Quite simply, Kroos dominated the middle of the park this evening. The Real Madrid midfielder was guilty of missing a golden chance in the second period when he fired over from close range, but aside from that, the German international did not put a foot wrong. His incredible range of passing was on display in the first period and early stages of the second, but he was released further up the pitch in the latter stages and played a part in his side's opener. It still seems remarkable that Bayern Munich allowed the 24-year-old to leave this summer.

Biggest gaffe

There were a number of missed opportunities that could have been placed in this category this evening, but the biggest gaffe of the match occurred in the final stages and it involved the referee. There is no question that the home side should have been awarded a penalty in stoppage time when Dani Carvajal's effort was clearly blocked by the hand of Mario Suarez, but the Spanish officials were not interested. Many penalty incidents are open to debate, but Suarez clearly moved his hand to divert Carvajal's effort away from the bottom corner.

Referee performance

As mentioned above, referee Javier Estrada had a bit of a nightmare in the latter stages when he failed to award Madrid a penalty following a Suarez handball. Overall, it was an extremely busy night for the official, who issued seven yellow cards in total and might have sent a couple of players from the field. It was always going to be a difficult evening for Estrada due to the rivalry between the two teams, but few would have predicted the amount of late challenges that occurred. Estrada did manage to keep a lid on proceedings for long spells, however, and must be credited for keeping 22 players on the field.

What next?

Real Madrid: The second leg of the Super Cup takes place at the Vicente Calderon on Friday, before Los Blancos open their La Liga challenge at home to Cordoba on Monday evening.

Atletico Madrid: Following the second leg at the Calderon, Atletico are also in La Liga action on Monday evening - travelling to capital rivals Rayo Vallecano.