Simeone lifts curse – Atletico thrash Real Madrid in 75-year high

Biggest win in a decade 

©IMAGO

Diego Simeone finally vanquished the demons that have haunted him throughout his career after guiding his Atlético Madrid side to an emphatic 5-2 victory over Real Madrid. The Argentinian head coach had overseen a terrible record against Los Blancos, winning just 12 of his previous 47 games and losing 20 of them – including two agonising Champions League final defeats. But at the 48th attempt, he recorded his finest victory against them to date and it was worth the wait. Before Saturday’s game at the Metropolitano, Xabi Alonso’s team had won all six of their LaLiga matches this season and immediately took over as favourites to win the title. Going to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, a place where they have had joy in recent years, would have been viewed as another opportunity to extend that run. After all, But Simeone’s men had other ideas, outfoxing Real with clever set-pieces and exposing their weaknesses to condemn them to a 5-2 defeat. Quite simply, they humiliated their rivals with a masterful display.

Robin Le Normand opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a towering header, but the hosts weren’t ahead for long. Kylian Mbappé finished off a sublime Madrid move on 25 minutes and Arda Güler, the man who supplied the assist, slotted home from a Vinicius Junior cross to put Real in front. Atlético thought they had equalised just before the break through Clement Lenglet, only for VAR to correctly disallow the goal for handball. But in first-half stoppage time, Alexander Sørloth’s header beat Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-2 and this time it would count. In the second half, Atlético picked up from where they left off and scored from the spot through Julián Alvarez after Güler high boot caught Nicolas Gonzalez in the penalty area. Alvarez then helped himself to a second before Antoine Griezmann compounded their misery with a close-range finish. Atlético had scored five against Real Madrid, and it would take some time for that to sink in. Their biggest triumph over their neighbours since 2014-15 when they ran out 4-0 winners, and the first time they have bagged five or more goals against the opposition since 1950-51.

Not many managers can hold a candle to Simeone’s 14-year tenure at Atlético. Almost like when Andy Murray won three Grand Slams during the Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic era, Atlético were generally not considered a superpower in LaLiga until the Argentinian took over in 2011. In that time, he has won two LaLiga titles – in 2013-14 and 2019-20 – at a time when Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were at the peak of their powers. But the only blemish against Simeone’s record has been his consistent inability to beat their city rivals Real Madrid and current champions Barcelona. El Clasico is Madrid’s bread and butter, but the Madrid derby isn’t far behind in terms of importance and losing the bragging rights to the Rojiblancos is simply intolerable as far as the Madridstas are concerned. But the reality is that Atlético are closer to their richer neighbours than Real would like to admit – and a large part of that is down to Simeone.