Tactical Review: Atletico Madrid 1 – Real Madrid 3
By Hasan Karim
Real Madrid was victorious in their visit to the Wanda Metropolitana as they took on Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby. Running out 3-1 winners as they now stand second in the La Liga table for the first time since September 2018.
This game summed up everything that a derby should be. It was dramatic, it was tough, it was noisy, it was tense – it had everything! Crunching tackles, majestic passes, great goals – it goes on and on.
On enemy territory against a notoriously hard defense, Real Madrid showed their character as they took all three points from their bitter rivals.
Throughout the course of the 90, Real held a strong grip on this game. Controlling the ball and circulating it well, although, and not to the surprise of anyone, Atlético were structured in their press and defensive set-up. The game saw Real’s defensive unit perform well. Varane and Ramos largely snuffed out all danger and Carvajal and Reguilon were particularly good on the flanks – bar the strange sequence for the Atletico goal which saw Griezmann get away a little too easily – Los Blancos were solid.
The first goal came about following Ramos seeing off four, yes FOUR, of Atletico’s defenders in the air as he knocked it to Casemiro who scored a sensational bicycle kick to take the lead. This is significant as Atletico don’t often let-up a goal in the opening half, conceding just 0.25 by the time the half-time whistle is blown at home.
Real’s attacks largely came down the flanks with Benzema struggling to find space centrally thanks to the compact nature of the Atletico defense.
Vinicius Jr and Vasquez were both consistent throughout this game in their work-rate. Vinicius Jr, in particular, had a stand-out game completing 2 dribbles and winning a penalty, however, he had the beating of his man often through this game as he constantly dared the opposition to square up with him.
He was simply electric. Stand-out moment? That amazing outside of the boot cross-field ball to Vasquez, it was just mesmerizing.
Following Atletico’s equalizer, Real responded well to the goal as they immediately bounced back on the attack. Consistent pressure eventually worked as Vinicius Jr burned Gimenez in the area and was brought down. Ramos fired the penalty in well and Real was once again in the lead and were well worth their lead.
One of the key aspects of Real’s win was the midfield and particularly Casemiro. The Brazilian was a menace throughout as he covered huge ground. Making the most tackles on the team, he also distributed well, completing 87% of his passes. Modric and Kroos also had strong performances with both completely nullifying the Atletico midfield alongside Casemiro.
The second half saw Atletico begin to falter as their aggression eventually got the better of them, persistent fouls saw Partey sent off late – Carvajal and Reguilon, in particular, took a kicking with 10 fouls suffered between the two of them.
The third goal was a well-worked sequence as Atletico completely collapsed within themselves. Reguilon played a vertical pass to Modric who played a little combination with Benzema before the Frenchman pinged in a pin-point ball for Gareth Bale, who fired into the far corner. A really well-worked move and the one that finally sunk the defensive monster in Atletico Madrid.
This was by far one of the best performances, if not the best of Real’s season. Solari nailed his selection following the Clasico, particularly at left-back as Marcelo failed to inspire much confidence. A solid and cohesive performance in a big game.
Next. Talking points from the Madrid Derby. dark
This is worth celebrating as a win in this game is certain to do wonders for the mentality of the team. Atletico has the best defensive home record in La Liga, they were conceding just 0.34 goals per game at home before this match.
However, Real capitalized at moments when it mattered most – Atletico conceded 28% of their goals between the 30th and 50th minute, Real squeezed in their second – they put on the pressure in the moments they knew their rivals struggled. They repeated the same idea late on, as Atletico have conceded half their total amount of goals conceded between the 50th and 70th, around the same time that Bale grabbed the third.
Real came in against the beast and put the beast down, the same beast that hasn’t seen three goals scored against them at home this term. This game just further proved, Real are in the ascendency. 5 points behind Barcelona, who have a game in hand, they suddenly seem to have ignited the title race again.