City rivals Atletico Madrid were not in their best form against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. They lost to Los Blancos in all four seasons between 2014 and 2017. They reached the final twice. They could not change that result in the first leg of the last 16. Despite coming from behind to equalise, Atletico failed to stop Real in their defensive football. Carlo Ancelotti’s team won 2-1.
The Champions Madrid derby was extra exciting as the two teams drew in their last two games. The start at the Santiago Bernabeu gave a hint of that. At least the first half was an even fight. However, Atletico could not compete with the host Real in the second half. Rodrigo Goes and Brahim Diaz scored one goal each for Real. On the other hand, Julián Alvarez reduced the gap with a remarkable goal for Atletico.
Although Real and Atletico fought evenly in possession of the ball, Real took control of it unilaterally in the end. As a result, they had 53 percent of the ball. In the entire match, Real managed to put 7 out of 13 shots on target, while Griezmann-Alvarez’s Atletico managed to put only 2 shots on target with 6 shots.
Rodrigo Goes scored the first goal of the match. In the fourth minute, he took a pass from Fede Valverde and ran past two people. Then, the Brazilian forward entered the box and fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net, leaving Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak without a chance. Rodrigo scored his fifth goal in the last nine matches. Real Madrid attacked the visitors’ defense, who were playing defensively, twice more in the space of a few minutes.
On the other hand, Diego Simeone’s team came out of the box after the fifteenth minute. Despite mounting several attacks, they could not do the job properly. After making the first good attack in the 27th minute, Athletic midfielder Javier Galan passed the ball to teammate Lino on goal, but Courtois missed the shot but Valverde cleared it. After several more attacks, the visitors equalized in the 32nd minute.
After beating Camavinga and Rodrygo on the left flank, Julián Álvarez Dunpaier’s brilliant shot from the top of the box eluded Thibaut Courtois and put the ball into the net. The Real goalkeeper could not get the edge even after jumping. The scoreline was instantly 1-1 and the Real camp at the Bernabeu was stunned for a while. Argentine star Álvarez scored his 7th goal in 9 matches after joining Atletico from Manchester City.
After the break, Real were desperate to increase the gap from the start. In the 55th minute, they got the desired goal from the feet of young Brahim Diaz. After receiving the ball from Mendy, the Moroccan star entered the box and fell into the red jersey, Diaz easily found a space in the middle of the crowd and took a shot that bit the ground. Antoine Griezmann created a great opportunity four minutes later. Although his shot eluded the Real defender, it could not get past Courtois’s obstacle.
In the end, the match was largely under Real’s control. Instead of paying the goal, Atletico coach Simeone started to strengthen the defense by bringing in substitute players. After that, the opponent’s defense was attacked by the opponent, but after 61 minutes, they could not take any shots on goal. As a result, Courtois did not have to face a big test. Instead, Real created a few opportunities to increase the gap. Although the scoreline did not change. In practice, Vinicius-Mbappe could not break Atletico’s defense. Nevertheless, Real Madrid finished the first leg against Atletico with a 2-1 victory.
