Real Madrid gave up the victory they had already thought was certain in the Derbi madrileno. Marcos Llorente countered the goal of Brahim Diaz, who had only been called into the starting line-up at short notice, in stoppage time.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti made five changes to his starting eleven after the 2-0 win at Getafe. Carvajal, Kroos, Camavinga and Rodrygo started in place of the injured Rüdiger, Modric, Tchouameni and Joselu. In addition, Vinicuis Junior had to miss a short time after warming up with problems in his cervical spine – Brahim Diaz took his place.
His counterpart Diego Simeone, on the other hand, made five changes compared to the 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano. Savic, de Paul, Koke, Griezmann and Morata rotated back into the first eleven for Reinildo, Vermeeren, Barrios, Depay and Correa.
Brahim Diaz with the lead
Real started offensively in the third meeting between the two teams in just under three weeks and had two shots in the first few minutes through Bellingham (2nd) and Brahim Diaz (3rd). The Rojiblancos, on the other hand, needed a few more minutes before they fired their first shot at the opponent’s goal through Morata. In this phase the game was quite even, with possession passages alternating.
In the 20th minute the home team took the lead – but they also had a bit of fortune on their side. The guests passed the ball to Real twice or three times, Brahim Diaz thanked him and pushed in from a few meters. Atletico tried to get a direct answer, but Witsel’s header was denied by Lunin (23′), and Savic was also unable to put the ball in the goal from the following corner (24′).
Real became dangerous whenever they managed to move forward at pace. This was also the case in the 27th minute with Rodrygos or in the 32nd minute with Vazquez’s finish. Atletico, on the other hand, repeatedly tried to throw high balls into the box in order to exploit the size deficit of substitute central defender Carvajal. This was partly successful, but Saul Niguez also headed the ball past the goal (37th). The Royals still had two half-chances through Rodrygo (42′) and Fede Valverde (45’+1) before going into the break with a 1-0 lead.
VAR concedes supposed equalizer – Marcos Llorente shocks Real late
After the break, it only took four minutes for Atletico’s similar corner variation to the one in the 24th minute to pay off. But Savic’s supposed equalizer was disallowed because Saul Niguez was offside – and in the eyes of the referees and the VAR, hindered Lunin. But Atletico couldn’t really keep up the momentum, first Kroos had the chance to finish (55′), then the guests invited Real through two mistakes – fortunately without consequences from their point of view (59′, 60′).
Real withdrew and relied more and more on switching actions. Rodrygo was denied by Oblak (66′), and the always busy Brahim Diaz was also unable to put the ball in the goal after his great individual performance (70′). But Real wasn’t free of mistakes either. However, Mendy’s mistake also left Griezmann unused (77th). Real seemed to have the game under control, but in the final minutes Atletico launched the final offensive again. Griezmann first tried from a distance (90th), before Marcos Llorente took advantage of too passive defensive behavior with a header in the third minute of stoppage time.
As a result, Real missed out on distancing themselves by four points from their pursuers Girona, who the Royals will face in a direct duel next weekend (Saturday, 6.30 p.m.). Atletico will host Athletic Bilbao (9:30 p.m.) in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, before playing away at struggling Sevilla FC next Sunday (6:30 p.m.).