Atletico Madrid 5-2 Real Madrid: Under-pressure Simeone engineers crushing defeat of local rivals
What more could the Atletico Madrid supporters or owners have asked for? Uncertainty had clouded Diego Simeone’s side ahead of the visit of their local rivals, after they followed a summer of over €170m spent – second behind only Real Madrid – with just two wins in six league games.
But then the home side responded by producing their most emphatic display of the season, dismantling Xabi Alonso’s side in the most lopsided Madrid derby since 2017.
This was a victory for Simeone and for the club, but it was also a victory for Julian Alvarez. Scoring the first hat-trick of his career in midweek, he followed it up by claiming some consolation for a controversial penalty decision that saw his side exit the Champions League against Madrid last season.
This time he struck incontrovertibly from the spot to restore Atleti’s lead early in the second half, before bending in a free-kick after the half hour to put the game all but beyond the visitors’ reach. Antoine Griezmann’s stoppage-time finish sealed the victory.
The defeat marked Xabi Alonso’s first loss in charge of Madrid this campaign, ending a run of seven straight wins across La Liga and the Champions League. Madrid stay top for now, though Barcelona can overtake them with a win against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Diego Simeone’s side began with intensity and were rewarded when Robin Le Normand rose to head home with only 14 minutes played. Madrid responded soon after when Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the season, finishing beyond Jan Oblak after being played in by Arda Guler.
Guler then put Madrid in front when he flashed in Vinicius Junior’s cross, before Alexander Sorloth met Koke’s delivery to make it 2-2 just before the break.
The second half belonged to Alvarez. He converted the resulting penalty after Guler undid his good work with a reckless foul on Nico Gonzalez, then added a second soon after with an excellent free-kick. Madrid streamed forward with urgency but the victory never seemed in doubt for Atletico, before Griezmann compounded their rivals’ misery.
