It's that simple actually that saw Los Rojiblancos in town

Not in their usual stripes as Atletico were in black

The whole thing is that simple when Atletico Madrid, upon winning the King's Cup days ago, decided to fly half the earth to tropical Singapore for one purpose - to help raise funds for the Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF) on the invitation by businessman Mr Peter Lim.

In such a match that rarely has Singapore football fans getting up close to see some of the finest in the game since the torn down of the old National Stadium, it definitely has to see the best of what we have to pit against quality opponents such as the Los Rojiblancos with a balanced mixed of players from the S.League and the Lions XII.

Former Lions skipper Indra Sahdan (red) in action

1st half skipper Shahril Ishak was let down by poor touches upfront

So in the end, it's just that simple when superstar Radamel Falcao, who is set to depart Madrid after the end of the La Liga season, and his mates descended days ago to fulfil their charitable obligation in the SOF-Peter Lim Charity Cup to raise funds to help those financial challenge students who are sportingly gifted.

Of course, the timing of their visit came at a time when Atletico are still in the midst of their domestic campaign that is entering a crucial period, some quarters questioned if the timing is suitable to have a game at this point, which is both physical and mentally demanding for them?

Rosman Sulaiman (12) won the aerial duel against Falcao

Falcao (in black) being dispossessed by the sea of reds

I am sure Atletico had weighed their options before undertaking such a decision with the promise to fly in their best squad for this exhibit match and had shown their sincerity.

I felt the last 30-odd minutes of the game did allow the 7,048 fans to be treated to some football feast (like those they saw on TV) when the guests decided to replace almost their entire outfield players much to the crowds' delight with the emerging of Falcao on the pitch.

Ahmad Latiff (right) is back from an international hiatus after a long break

Geylang International's Jozef Kaplan started the game well

Atletico coach Simeone felt it was a competitive match

In hindsight, the local side barely let the home crowds down by holding the La Liga side for a large part of the game for having conceded a goal in each half of the game with goals from Raul Garcia and Diego Costa.

When asked if any local boys could make the cut in Europe, Atletico coach Diego Simeone didn't really give an outright answer, although he added it's hard to access Hariss Harun's European prospect just based on one game he saw of him, despite being impressed by the supposedly Portugal-bound Lions XII midfield mainstay.

Following the match, the Spaniards will pack their bags and head home to Madrid to complete the remaining domestic fixtures.