Atletico Madrid have beaten a 10-man Real Madrid 2-1 in the Madrid derby in La Liga. The win narrows the gap between Atletico and Barcelona at the top of the table. For Real it was a second defeat of the season.
Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were all in Real’s attack from the start of Sunday’s match. But although there was tension in the contest between two star-studded sides, the first half produced no clear chances.
The notable incident of the first half was a clash between Bellingham and the Atletico defender Cristian Romero. Bellingham was shown a yellow card at first, but on the advice of the video assistant referee (VAR) the decision was changed and the card went to Romero instead.
The match turned at the start of the second half. Real’s defender Dean Huijsen pulled back Giuliano Simeone inside the box as he bore down on goal. After a VAR review Huijsen was shown a red card and Atletico were given a penalty. Alejandro Grimaldo scored from the spot to put his side ahead.
Real’s coach Jose Mourinho made two quick changes after conceding, taking off Vinicius and Arda Guler and bringing on Yan Diomande and Antonio Rudiger. But Atletico doubled their lead before Real could recover.
In the 59th minute the Canadian forward Jonathan David scored after collecting a low cross from Giuliano Simeone. It was his third goal in three successive matches for Atletico.
Atletico then came close to a third, but Real’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to keep out Julian Alvarez. Grimaldo’s follow-up shot was headed off the goal line by Ibrahima Konate.
Real pulled a goal back late on, Rudiger heading in from a Bernardo Silva cross. But that late goal was not enough to bring the side level.
The win lifts Atletico to second in the table. They are five points behind Barcelona and one ahead of Real Madrid. The defeat leaves Real six points behind the leaders.