Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: Derby Winners and Losers from La Liga
An extraordinary Madrid derby took place in La Liga on Saturday afternoon, with Atletico dishing out a 4-0 hammering to city rivals Real.
Despite injuries on both sides, each manager fielded strong lineups. Four minutes after Koke joined the injured list early on, Tiago scored the opener. Koke's replacement, Saul, soon made it 2-0 in spectacular fashion, with Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic adding further goals in the second half.
Here are all our winners and losers from the Madrid derby.
Winners: Diego Simeone's Fast-Start Instruction
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Diego Simeone headed into this match knowing he needed a win to keep his side's bid to retain the title alive, so he clearly sent his charges out with one message in mind: start fast.
That they certainly did: It was relentless stuff from Atletico, right from kick-off. They closed down, pressed high, made challenges and instantly countered, or else they enjoyed prolonged spells of possession themselves and kept getting people into the box.
By the time Real Madrid had approached anything like a reasonable spell, they were already two goals down.
Simeone was quoted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN as saying:
"In a game like this we were able to play the game we wanted out on the pitch.
And it went very well. Our ability to interpret the plan, and then execute it, was brilliant.
"
Loser: Cristiano Ronaldo's Anonymous Return
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Cristiano Ronaldo returned from a two-match ban just in time for the derby. He needn't have bothered.
Atletico's ability to close off the supply line shut out the entire front line for Real Madrid, but Ronaldo in particular was a massive disappointment. He didn't drop back into pockets of space to pick up possession and drag play forward himself with his pace, showed no attempt to sprint in behind the high defensive line for a simple ball over the top, and he certainly didn't provide movement to link play better, either.
His single shot was a petulant, pointless attempt from almost 30 yards, off balance and off target, and he spent most of the little time he did have on the ball looking for fouls which weren't there. It was a horrid day for all in white, but the best player in the world needs to perform far better in matches like these.
Ronaldo contributed nothing to getting his side back into the match.
Sid Lowe of The Guardian wrote: "Only the boos that accompanied Ronaldo prevented him from being entirely anonymous and, if he was seen little, Gareth Bale was seen less."
Winner: Saul's Entrance
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When Koke went off injured early the first half, it could have been a moment of real importance. The power, running and technical ability the midfielder provides would all have been big losses—but Saul Niguez came on and brought Atletico all of that and more.
Saul might not have Koke's endurance, consistency and creativity yet, but he does have one aspect to his game Koke doesn't: He gets into the box more often and more directly. That approach paid off with some style, as he thundered in a perfect overhead kick to double Atleti's lead at 18 minutes.
Later, a towering leap saw him claim an assist, too, before he suffered his own unfortunate injury. Cani, the loan signing from Villarreal, may now sense an opportunity to become more involved.
Loser: Real's Entire Midfield
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Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira are World Cup winners, and Isco has been one of the most in-form players in La Liga. However, they were all made to look like inferior beings throughout the 90 minutes against Atletico Madrid.
They appeared slow on the ball, unable to move quickly enough to find spaces and certainly unable to create anything between the opposition lines.
In truth, it was the reverse: Atleti's hard work, great organisation and relentless pressing stopped Real's trio from doing anything of note whatsoever, but you'd have hoped—or Carlo Ancelotti would—that one of them would try to do something different at some point to alter the flow of the game. Instead, Real were second best throughout the entire encounter.
Winner: A Perfect Front Pairing
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Antoine Griezmann was one of the best players on the field, perhaps even just edging Mario Mandzukic for man of the match.
As a front two—and they do play as a two, a centre-forward pairing—they are almost a perfect match, offering tremendous work ethic, great technique, pace, power and, at present, no stop to their scoring touch. Another goal apiece here—Griezmann's seemed to come off Raphael Varane, but it has so far been credited the forward's way—continues their respective runs, and they were far too much for Real Madrid to handle.
With the depth in the Atleti squad, everyone has to be on top of their game to keep their place. The front two, in particular, are showing exactly what is required if Atleti are to retain their title this season.
