Real Madrid took care of business at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, defeating bitter rivals Atletico Madrid 1-0. Here were the top five performances from the match.
In their first 210 minutes of head-to-head action in 2019-2020, neither Real Madrid nor Atletico Madrid were able to find the back of the net. Both sides had their chances, but in between Jan Oblak saves and Fede Valverde tactical fouls, no actual goals were scored. Los Blancos needed penalties to defeat Atleti in the final of the Spanish Supercup.
On Matchweek 22 of La Liga, Real and Atletico told a similar story at the Santiago Bernabeu. But after a tight, nervy first half in which Los Rojiblancos created the better chances of the two, Real Madrid were the ones who broke the deadlock in the second 45 after brilliant work from Vinicius Junior and Ferland Mendy set up Karim Benzema for a golden opportunity he wouldn’t miss.
That goal was the difference between Real and Atleti, and it put Los Blancos in an even more commanding position in the league table.
Here were the top five performances from the 1-0 win at El Derbi.
LW Vinicius Junior
Incredible. Vinicius Junior is one of Real Madrid’s most in-form players right now, and he grabbed this opportunity by the scruff of its neck. He really should have started after dazzling in the Copa del Rey against Real Zaragoza at midweek, but Zinedine Zidane bafflingly wanted to continue to face Atleti with a tactical setup wherein he overloads the midfield with bodies.
The strategy predictably failed, but, credit to Zidane, the club legend made a major tactical shakeup at half-time. He took out Toni Kroos, who was admittedly playing very well again, and the struggling Isco for Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vazquez.
While Vazquez’s hard work on the right to help Dani Carvajal defensively deserves a shoutout, Vinicius was the obvious star of the show. The 19-year-old was simply unplayable, working hard up and down the flank.
Real needed to spread the pitch wide, and that’s exactly what Vini did for Zidane. Full of confidence, he took on defenders at every chance, absolutely embarrassing Atleti on the afternoon. And of course, his pass to Ferland Mendy led to the assist that changed the whole game for Los Blancos.
A tremendous performance from a player who is on the road to being world class.