Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2016 Madrid Derby

Atletico Madrid walked out of the Santiago Bernabeu with a 1-0 win after Saturday's derby, putting some distance between themselves and Real Madrid in the Liga standings.

Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the match early in the second half, taking advantage of some poor transition defence from the hosts. Real had been the better team up until that point but failed to put together too many chances.

A late push resulted in a handful of looks but no goals, leaving Los Blancos four points behind Atletico in the standings and miles outside the Liga title race.

As shared by the club's official Twitter account, Gareth Bale was still unavailable for Real Madrid, handing James Rodriguez another opportunity to start, while Danilo replaced the injured Marcelo:

Real came out with plenty of attacking intentions, as the visitors sat back and eyed the counter-attack, trusting their vaunted defence to hold its own against Los Blancos' powerful attack.

Jose Gimenez and Karim Benzema fought out a fantastic battle early, as Real appeared determined to pick on the younger centre-back. The Uruguayan didn't seem at all impressed, however.

The chance of the first half fell to the visitors, as Dani Carvajal and Keylor Navas nearly handed Fernando Torres a clear path to goal with some poor communication. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan noted the stopper didn't look comfortable in the passing game at all:

Real were by far the more adventurous side early, but Atletico's defensive structure made it almost impossible for the hosts to find any space to work the ball. Their first real chance came from a free-kick, with Toni Kroos finding Raphael Varane, whose header missed the target.

Atletico looked confident on the counter attack, and Torres thought he had a one-on-one chance midway through the first half, only to see the flag raised. Per Corrigan, Atletico's struggling attack looked no better against their city rivals early:

Cristiano Ronaldo also found himself called back for offside after a great pass from Isco, with replays later confirming the Portugal international shouldn't have been flagged down. Ronaldo had every reason to complain, and things got even worse minutes later.

Diego Godin pulled down Benzema by the shirt as the last defender, leaving the official with a big decision to make. He opted against sending the Uruguayan off, handing him a yellow card. Filipe Luis got himself booked minutes later, and Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse couldn't believe the Brazilian would be so careless:

Ronaldo tested Jan Oblak for the first time with a powerful drive from the resulting free-kick.

As the first half wore on, Real's defence started opening up more and more, and it led to chances for the visitors. First, Navas had to be at his best to deny Griezmann, before producing yet another stunning save on aheader from Saul Niguez.

Some late Real pressure came to nothing, as a rather uneventful first half finished without any goals. Andrew Gaffney of Yahoo Sport UK was rather disappointed:

Zinedine Zidane made a bold move to start the second half, taking off star striker Benzema for youngster Borja Mayoral. Ronaldo missed the first real chance of the half, firing wide from a tight angle.

Real continued to see more of the ball, but the visitors proved the more clinical side, as Atletico took the lead early in the second half. Griezmann played in Luis, who kept his cool and laid the ball back for his team-mate for an easy finish. The Frenchman didn't have to worry about any pressure, as both Kroos and Luka Modric didn't seem to bothered to rush back into defence to stop the counter. 

Per Corrigan, fans at the Bernabeu were not happy:

Rodriguez was replaced by Lucas Vazquez after an anonymous performance, but the sub hardly had an impact, as Atletico looked the better side and took control of the ball. The visitors started to dominate the midfield battle, forcing Los Blancos into making countless fouls to stop their attack.

Navas showed his immense reflexes to keep out a shot from Niguez, before Ronaldo was given a free header from just six yards out, firing it straight at Oblak.

With 20 minutes left to play, Real started mustering some chances, and Mayoral nearly became the hero, scuffing a shot that forced Oblak into another save.

Per Canning, the visitors visibly slowed down toward the end:

Danilo wanted a penalty for making contact with Gabi inside the box, but to the dismay of the home crowd, the official waved off his appeals. Pundit Graham Hunter thought the Brazilian full-back didn't have a great afternoon:

Saul tried his luck from long range, with Navas making the easy save, while Modric orchestrated Real's desperate push to snatch a point from the match. Ronaldo beat Godin in the air to win another header, but once again, his effort landed in the arms of Oblak.

Danilo did well to barge into the box, but he completely scuffed his shot and pulled it wide, as time started to run out. Atletico pulled out of the momentum out of the match in the final minutes, holding on for the win.

Atletico will play host to Real Sociedad on Tuesday, while Real will visit Levante on Wednesday.  

Post-Match Reaction

Per Marca (h/t Football Espana), Zidane admitted Real's title chase is over after the loss:

"

The League is finished. Losing at home to Atletico is a very hard blow.

I have confidence in the players. Things will change next year and there will be changes.

We’ve got a game on Wednesday. I’m not crazy. It’s a difficult moment but we have to be professional.

Real Madrid will never give up. I have to look for solutions. I wasn’t expecting this, this is the first defeat at home.

"

Meanwhile, per Marca (h/t Football Espana), Ronaldo took a shot at some of his team-mates: 

"

If everyone had my level, we’d be first. Every year, according to the press, it seems I’m rubbish, but the numbers and statistics don’t lie.  I don’t want to disparage anyone, any teammate, but when the best aren’t there it’s difficult to win. I like playing with Pepe, with Karim [Benzema], with [Gareth] Bale, with Marcelo. I don’t mean Jese, Lucas [Vazquez], [Mateo] Kovacic aren’t good, they’re very good, but…

"

He also said Real had more chances and "deserved to win."

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