The cracker between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid in LaLiga has not resulted in a winner. Sunday’s city derby at the Wanda Metropolitano ended in 1-1: Luis Suárez soon opened the score for the leader, who could not prevent Karim Benzema from setting the final score in the final minutes. Barcelona, which beat Osasuna 0-2 on Saturday, is therefore the big winner of the weekend. Atlético now has three points more and one game less than the Catalans, while Real Madrid has to make up a five-point deficit on the city rivals with one game more.
Atlético started the game with much more intensity and the ball did not stay in Real Madrid’s possession for long. After fourteen minutes of play, Diego Simeone’s team was paid for work. Marcos Llorente had a free run on the right when Nacho Fernández was just too late to reach the ball with a sliding: the attacker handed the ball to Suárez, who simply ran away from Raphaël Varane and the ball diagonally past Thibaut Courtois. shot. It was for el Pistolero his twelfth goal in eighteen encounters with Real Madrid: 1-0.
???? ?????????????????? ?? Luis Suárez pricks it beautifully inside with the outside of the foot ?? Obviously goes @sierd loose: 1-0 for Atlético against rival Real ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #AtletiRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/Ga0TGDr5Bk
– Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 7, 2021
Zinedine Zidane watched distressed as Real Madrid struggled to reach Jan Oblak’s goal area and to be dangerous. The goalkeeper hardly had to take action in the first 45 minutes: only a shot by Casemiro from a distance caused problems for the Slovenian. The devil was in the minutes before the break when Real Madrid claimed a penalty after a handball from Felipe. Referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández refused to point to the spot, even after watching the moment on the screen. The referee stated that the defender’s handball was not conscious. It sparked anger among the Real Madrid players and even a dance of joy for Simeone.
The city derby went up and down after the break: Nacho headed the ball from a Casemiro cross straight into the hands of Oblak and Courtois saved in a one-on-one situation with Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, after which Llorente shot the ball over the goal. A minute later, the Belgian was again important when he turned a shot from Suarez and reached the ball a little earlier before the Uruguayan could have cashed in on the rebound. Simeone and Zidane opted for the first changes around an hour: Saúl Ñiguez and Joao Félix replaced Thomas Lemar and Ferreira Carrasco on the side of los Colchoneros , while on the visit Rodrygo and Marco Asensio gave way to Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde.
Karim Benzema! ?? The French striker is all the way back, cutting through the heart of the Atlético defense ?? It thus stays at 1-1 in the Wanda Metropolitano ???#ZiggoSport #SerieA #AtletiRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/g4vCPhjTur
– Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 7, 2021
Real Madrid got stronger as the second half went on. Oblak turned a shot from Valverde and then saw how a bet by Karim Benzema just went wide. A minute later, the Frenchman got the chance to take revenge, but Oblak stood in the way of an equalizing goal with two great reflexes. Oblak kept Atlético going when he also turned a free kick from Benzema, but in the end he had to give in. After a wonderful combination with Casemiro, the Frenchman signed for the 1-1 and that was also the final score.