Rubin upset Atlético to end holders' home run

FC Rubin Kazan stunned UEFA Europa League holders Club Atlético de Madrid as a battling performance from Kurban Berdyev's ten men earned a 2-0 first-leg victory in this round of 32 tie – and inflicted Atlético's first European home defeat since December 2010

The visitors, unbeaten in Europe this season, signalled their attacking intent straight away and took the lead in the sixth minute when Gökdeniz Karadeniz rounded off a fine move. With captain Roman Sharanov seeing red just before half-time, however, Rubin's game plan changed; after defending for much of the second half, they scored a second through Pablo Orbaiz's breakaway goal to become the first side since Aris Thessaloniki FC to win at the Vicente Calderón in continental competition.

Undaunted by Atlético's 100% record at home this term, Rubin – who had enjoyed a famous victory on Spanish soil at FC Barcelona in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League – made an immediate impact. Edging in from the left, Gökdeniz Karadeniz fed a pass into the area for Roman Eremenko whose clever back-heel found José Rondón. The attacker's powerful strike was parried by his former Málaga CF club-mate Sergio Asenjo but the alert Gökdeniz Karadeniz was on hand to steer home the rebound.

Diego Simeone's team looked to respond and after Falcao saw an effort from distance fly wide, he was subsequently upended on the edge of the Rubin box by visiting captain Roman Sharanov who was awarded a second yellow card.

The ten men closed ranks after the restart and limited the Rojiblancos to speculative long-range attempts until the top scorer in the last two UEFA Europa League campaigns, Falcao, rattled the bar with a shot. Adrián López should have equalised but headed off target when unmarked at the far post before Cristian Rodríguez slashed wide. Then, with the match in added time, Rubin broke from an Atlético corner and with Asenjo challenging in the opposing area, Eremenko poked the ball forward to Orbaiz who slotted into the empty net.