The Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid La Liga match ended 2-1 in favour of Atletico at the Metropolitano on Sunday, September 20. It was Real Madrid’s second defeat in their seventh La Liga match this season, and Barcelona now have a six-point lead over them.
Dean Huijsen, the Real Madrid centre-back, was sent off in the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid match. His sending off tilted the balance of the match in the home side’s favour.
Two Reasons Why Real Lost the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Match
#1. Below-par Defence
Throughout the match, the left side of Real Madrid’s defence had trouble dealing with the runs of Giuliano Simeone, who was the best player in the match. Marc Cucurella had trouble dealing with Simeone, as did Huijsen, the left-sided centre-back.
The fact that Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid left-winger, did not fall back often enough to support the defence worsened things for the visitors. Real Madrid often needed help from Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde to stop Simeone.
In the second half, Huijsen failed to stop the 23-year-old Argentine when a long ball was played from deep to him and had to commit a foul on him. It was a lazy challenge from Huijsen that earned Atletico Madrid a penalty, which they converted to go 1-0 up.
Minutes later, Simeone’s cross from the right brought about the home side’s second goal in the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid match. Antonio Rudiger scored for the visitors in the closing minutes, but by then the fate of the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid match was sealed already.
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#2. Inability to Play Proper Counter-attacking Football
Ball possession in the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid match was dominated by the home side, who finished the match with almost 65% ball possession. However, in response to that, Real Madrid were not able to play proper counter-attacking football.
Real’s defensive players did not play long balls to pacey forwards like Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe often enough to take advantage of the Atletico Madrid high defensive line. Neither did Valverde or Tchouameni.
Arda Guler had to drop back to the central midfield areas from the right flank to create moves at times. Even Jude Bellingham did not fall back to collect the ball and play long, diagonal passes to the forwards, which meant that the visitors failed to take the home side by surprise.
It was a failure on Jose Mourinho’s part, too. He should have devised a game plan to support Real Madrid’s counter-attacking football. The fact that Real could not break quickly enough in transition went a long way towards determining the fate of the match.
Extra Time Notes
A defeat in the Madrid derby has pushed Real Madrid back in the title race. Barcelona look relentless in their attacking excellence and show no signs of slowing down.
As a result, Real will have to improve their performance in the upcoming matches. They cannot afford any further slip-ups and will have to keep winning to maintain the pressure on Barca. However, the defeat in the Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid match must have jolted their confidence.
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