Real Madrid 3-2 Atlético Madrid (Vinícius Júnior x2 & Valverde). An all-action derby victory… This is my immediate reaction to memorable showdown. Coming up: Player ratings, interviews and a derby podcast.
Fresh off of the elation from the Manchester City tie, Atlético Madrid would be a hurdle just as mighty on paper. Every point matters in a La Liga title race that Real Madrid are currently losing, and points dropped at the hands of their arch city rivals would be a disaster. Thiago Pitarch continued his run of starts, joined by the likes of Brahim Díaz, Arda Güler and Fede Valverde. Dani Carvajal captained the team for the derby.
Real Madrid started creating chances immediately through Dani Carvajal and then Fede Valverde, before Marcos Llorente tried his luck for the visitors. Atlético took the lead despite some good play by the hosts, with Adama Lookman scoring his first Madrid-derby goal. This would run through to half-time, to the frustration of the home crowd. 1-1 at the interval.
Real Madrid found an early equaliser when Vinícius Júnior scored from the spot, and Fede Valverde capitalised on a mistake to quick-fire his teams way into a sudden lead. Atlético don’t go down without a fight though, and equalised through Nahuel Molina – before Vinícius Júnior was again on hand to shut down their attempts at a comeback. Fede Valverde was sent off with ten minutes to go, leading to a very tense climax – as Alexander Sørloth came close to stealing a point in added time. Fortunately, that was the best they could muster up, and the referees whistle ended a memorable battle – one that finished 3-2 to Real Madrid. What were your thoughts on the game?