Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid: Player Ratings as Yannick Carrasco lights up Madrid derby in Karim Benzema's absence | La Liga 2021-22

Real Madrid suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, May 8.

Atleti welcomed their fiercest rivals to their own turf for this Madrid derby. Real Madrid have already been crowned champions of Spain after their previous game and have nothing to play for. The only hope they had was to ruin the hosts' chances of automatic qualification for next year's Champions League.

Atletico Madrid began the game with high-intensity play. They committed players forward as they looked to push Real Madrid deep into their own halves. Yannick Carrasco was lively from the start and created the hosts' initial chances. Jesus Vallejo seemed to struggle with the Belgian's pace.

Eder Militao, too, looked nervy as Atleti continued to attack and cause problems for the visitors. Real Madrid were without older heads Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois as there was a visible lack of experience in their XI.

Carrasco made several runs into dangerous positions and was complemented well by Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian ventured into the box on one occasion and was tripped by Vallejo. Upon VAR review, the referee awarded Atletico Madrid a penalty. Carrasco stepped up and promptly scored to put Atleti 1-0 up in the 40th minute.

Rodrygo attempted Real Madrid's only shot on target in the first half. That too was a tame effort which came after Atletico Madrid had virtually stopped playing whilst protesting a decision. The hosts did well to clamp Real's attack down and went into the break with a deserved 1-0 lead.

The second half began with the two sides looking more evenly-matched. Real Madrid put in an effort to attack and frequently made charges down the wing. However, Atleti sat deeper in their own half and made it hard for the visitors to break them down.

Carlo Ancelotti was eager to change the course of the game and made multiple substitutions. He brought on Vinicius Jr. and Federico Valverde in a bid to up the ante in attack. The latter looked lively and attempted multiple shots towards goal.

Diego Simeone made a few substitutions as well in what turned out to be a smart move. Having come on at half-time, Antoine Griezmann burst into life around the hour-mark. He came close to scoring twice in a matter of minutes but failed to even hit the target.

Real Madrid showed more hunger as Ferland Mendy and Modric came on to help steady the ship. Valverde continued to unleash shots and forced a fingertip save from Jan Oblak. They came up with an innovative free-kick routine late in the game and almost scored from it through Asensio. But Oblak made another sharp save to keep the visitors at bay.

Atletico Madrid held on to secure a crucial 1-0 win over Real Madrid. The result saw them create a six-point gap between themselves and Real Betis in fifth place.

That said, let's take a look at the player ratings from tonight's contest.

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Atletico Madrid Player Ratings

Club Atletico de Madrid v Real Madrid CF - La Liga Santander

Jan Oblak - 8/10

Oblak had a good game in Atleti's goal. He made some crucial saves to help his side secure the points. He made a total of six saves, two of which were from inside the box.

Sime Vrsaljko - 6.5/10

Vrsaljko made a good start to the game and was an important presence in Atletico Madrid's defense, making six successful tackles.

Stefan Savic - 7/10

Savic looked solid as ever at the heart of the hosts' backline. He was booked in the second half for a late tackle on Rodrygo.

Jose Gimenez - 7./10

Gimenez looked solid and composed in defense. He made three clearances and played seven accurate long balls

Reinildo - 7/10

He showed a tendency to venture forward despite Simeone instructing him to stay back from the sidelines.

Marcos Llorente - 6.5/10

Llorente initially looked confused about which position to take up during transitions. However, he slowly started finding a way into the game.

He picked up an early booking in the 37th minute.

Koke - 7/10

Koke did well to carry the ball forward and made a combative start in midfield. He put in four successful tackles and played a key pass.

Geoffrey Kondogbia - 7.5/10

Kondogbia made a solid start in midfield. He played seven out of seven long balls attempted.

Yannick Ferreira Carrasco - 7.5/10

Carrasco was the brightest spark on the sharp Atletico Madrid frontline. He created most of his side's initial chances. He also scored from the penalty that Cunha earned in the first half.

The Belgian attempted five shots, of which just one was on target. He also played four crosses and four key passes. He hit the woodwork once.

Angel Correa - 6/10

Correa had a relatively dull first half as compared to his teammates and was subbed off at half-time.

Matheus Cunha - 7/10

Cunha was sharp on the turn and helped Atletico advance the ball into threatening areas. Won the penalty which Carrasco converted.

Substitutes

Antoine Griezmann - 7/10

Griezmann came on and made an instant impact. He led Atletico's charge by carrying the ball forward into dangerous areas.

Felipe - 6.5/10

Felipe came on midway through the second half and helped his side secure a win.

Rodrigo De Paul and Renan Lodi - N/A

The duo barely played a minute of regulation time.

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Real Madrid Player Ratings

Andriy Lunin - 6.5/10

The 23-year-old Ukrainian made a nervy start to the game as Atletico Madrid's fans were as loud as they could be.

Lucas Vazquez - 6/10

Vazquez often struggled to clear the ball out of tight spaces. He made three tackles. He was booked early on, before the half-an-hour mark

Eder Militao - 6/10

Militao put in a mixed performance in the game. He was subbed off a few minutes after the hour-mark.

Jesus Vallejo - 6/10

Vallejo struggled to cope with Atleti's blistering pace in attack. He gave away a penalty in the first half after tripping Cunha and receiving a yellow card in the process. He had five clearances to his name.

Nacho - 7/10

Real Madrid's captain for the night put in a decent performance. He started the game at left-back but moved into central defense midway through the second half. He blocked two shots and won 11 of his 14 duels.

Eduardo Camavinga - 7/10

Camavinga looked composed and distributed the ball well.

Casemiro - 6.5/10

Casemiro initially looked a bit off the pace in the center of the park. However, he put in some key challenges and helped his side win the ball back. He won eight of his 10 duels.

He was subbed off at the hour-mark having recently returned from injury.

Toni Kroos - 6.5/10

He gave the ball away in a dangerous position early in the game and was lucky Real Madrid did not concede in the aftermath. Kroos had a decent game after the initial mishap. He passed the ball with 94% accuracy.

Marco Asensio - 7/10

Asensio looked lively and used his creativity to carve out openings for Real Madrid. He attempted three shots, out of which one was on target and one was blocked.

Rodrygo - 7/10

Real Madrid's midweek hero made a slow start to the game. However, he found his way and played two key passes.

Luka Jovic - 5.5/10

Jovic looked out of place as he failed to establish effective coordination with Rodrygo and Asensio. He was booked for a rash tackle in the first half.

Substitutes

Federico Valverde - 7/10

Valverde galvanized Real Madrid's attack after coming on in the second half. He attempted three shots, two of which were on target.

Vinicius Jr. - 7/10

The Brazilian came on midway through the second half but failed to get his team on the scoreline. He played two key passes and took two shots, one of them on target.

Luka Modric - 6.5/10

Modric came on in the second half and was not very involved in proceedings.

Ferland Mendy - 6/10

Mendy put in two accurate long balls in the 20 minutes he played, but was otherwise unremarkable.