Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: 6 Points to Take Away from the Derby

In one of the most anticipated derbies this season, Cristiano Ronaldo made a statement.

That statement was that Lionel Messi will have to earn the Pichichi Trophy and his right to be called the best player in football.

In the 147th edition of the Madrid derby, Ronaldo scored his seventh hat trick in La Liga—giving him one more than Messi.

Ronaldo now has 40 goals to Messi's 39 in the Pichichi race.

As great as his performance and the final score was, Real was far from dominant.

Atletico was very much in this race until the 83rd minute when a Ronaldo penalty put the game out of reach. Before that, Atletico were always on the attack and seemingly one ball cross from leveling.

Real needed this victory to take some pressure off after Barcelona beat Getafe the day before. The club can now breathe easier for at least a few days, but have they really righted the ship?

Atletico will now have a long fight to get back into European qualification.

Here are six things we learned from the Madrid derby.

That's How to Respond

After Lionel Messi scored against Getafe to build a two-goal lead on Ronaldo, CR7 needed to respond.

And respond he did.

Ronaldo made up the two goals and moved ahead of Messi for the league lead.

First, the free-kick specialist continued his resurgence with a nearly unstoppable dead ball.

Ronaldo went eight months without converting a free kick, but has now found his groove again.

Later, after Falcao leveled, Ronaldo put Real back in the lead with a sublime shot from outside the box—one of his best of the season.

Courtoius had no chance on either shot. Is there a better shooter than Cristiano Ronaldo?

The battle for the title of best forward in the world may have to be decided on April 21 at Camp Nou.

Benzema and Higuain Are Better Apart

Before last weekend's disappointing performance, many were praising the trio of Ronaldo, Higuain and Benzema as perhaps the best in the world.

Demolitions of Osasuna, APOEL and Sociedad inspired Jose Mourinho to make this part of his new first-choice formation.

Of course, not all of Jose's opponents have Sociedad's defense.

Against Valencia, just as we saw earlier in the season, Higuain and Benzema proved to not compliment each other very well. The best option is to put Benzema behind Higuain, but even that requires too much from Benzema.

Against faster, stronger defenses, the pair does not link up well and ends up neutralizing each other more often than not.

Against better defenses, like Atletico Madrid, it is better for Jose to only use one striker and allow the supporting cast to provide.

This move worked splendidly in the derby and is what Jose should prefer going forward.

Sergio Who?

When Radamel Falcao was bought for €40 million, he became the most expensive transfer in Atletico Madrid's history.

Many fans questioned whether or not the Colombian could help ease the loss of Sergio Agüero, one of the club's most popular figures.

Many of those fans are now wondering why they were ever even worried.

After netting his 21st league goal against Real Madrid, Falcao has beaten Agüero's career best in his first season.

He was the second most dangerous player on the pitch on the night behind Ronaldo. He was a menace for Real's defense all night and nearly leveled the score in the 76th minute on another header.

Atletico Madrid will do everything they can to hold on to their new superstar.

Atletico Still Lack Bite

As great as Falcao was, it was clear that he could not do it alone.

The lack of help for Falcao has been a problem all season in big matches. As great as Adrian and Salvio have been, they still are not doing enough.

The chances have been there for months and were there against Real, especially in the second half. There just were not enough players able to convert.

No other Atletico player had a single shot on goal. Not one.

This would be understandable if Real's defense was the reason, but that is not the case.

Real's two center backs could not even handle Falcao. It is a good thing for them that no one else was a threat on the night.

Real's Defense Still a Problem

Real Madrid continued to look vulnerable on set pieces and crosses against Atletico Madrid.

The defense was at full strength aside from Fabio playing in place of Marcelo, but the entire back line struggled to mark.

On Atletico's lone goal, Falcao was left unmarked at the back post until Fabio arrived to the Colombian just after Adrian's cross.

With Real having six men in the box to mark three Atletico players, there is no reason Falcao should have had so much space.

When Falcao had two more chances to level in through the air in the 76th and 79th minute, he was again left alone with a fullback.

How does a man who has 20 league goals and outnumbered by Real Madrid jerseys get left unmarked for three headers?

On a better night—and one where Ronaldo was not at his best—Falcao could have won this derby himself.

Real Madrid Still Favorites?

Cristiano Ronaldo won all three points in the derby, but Real were far from perfect.The final score makes Atletico's performance look far worse than it really was.

The central defense was poor for most of the night, and having both Ramos and Pepe will limit excuses.

Ronaldo's first two goals were truly unstoppable, but the dagger was not.

At 2-1, Atletico was still attacking and looking for a draw. Then, a foolish charge by Diego Godin on Higuain allowed Ronaldo to put it away.

The fourth was after Atletico knew it was over.

In the end, Real are in the driver's seat and should feel extremely confident after putting four goals on the second stingiest home defense in La Liga.

However, there are still many areas that Madrid will need to improve to keep Barcelona at bay in the final weeks.

What Did You Learn?

What points did you take away from the derby?

Do you think Real were always the better team, or was Atletico in it most of the way?

Does the loss end Atletico's hopes at the Champions League, or at least Europe?

What does this mean for the title race? Will the win give Real enough confidence to close out the season and even win El Clasico?

I welcome and appreciate all feedback.