Atletico Madrid 1-3 Real Madrid: 3 takeaways

Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 1-3 at the Wanda Metropolitano in the Madrid derby yesterday to climb to 2nd position on the league table. Real now have 45 points from 23 matches while Atletico stay on 44 from the same number of matches.

Casemiro opened the scoring for Real in the 16th minute, but Atletico equalised through Antoine Griezmann in the 25th minute. Sergio Ramos converted a penalty in the 42nd minute and Gareth Bale increased the deficit in the 74th minute to complete a resounding win for Los Blancos.

Madrid still trail leaders Barcelona by 5 points, and would probably have to beat their arch-rivals on 2nd March in order to have a realistic chance of winning LaLiga.

We now take a look at 3 takeaways from yesterday’s match.

#1 Karim Benzema’s passing, Vinicius’ speed and Lucas Vasquez’s skills were too much for Atletico

Real’s front 3 comprising of Benzema, Vinicius, and Vazquez started troubling the Atletico defence from the beginning and fashioned a memorable win for the Whites. Benzema dropped down to the middle third repeatedly to get hold of the ball and played some crucial lateral passes to the overlapping fullbacks and midfielders.

One such pass led to a corner for Real in the 15th minute and they managed to score through it. Casemiro's diving side volley found its way past Jan Oblak, Atletico’s goalkeeper. However, Atletico equalised soon after, as Vinicius lost the ball and Griezmann made use of a through ball by slotting it past Thibaut Courtois.

Vinicius atoned for his mistake some minutes later, as he tried to penetrate the Atletico penalty box after beating their right-back with his blistering speed, but was fouled inside the box. Ramos scored his 84th goal for Real from the penalty spot.

Bale came in as a substitute in the second half and scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid. Real started with a 4-3-3 formation, but it was a lopsided one, and often became 4-4-2, as right winger Vazquez played in a more defensive position at times.

However, Vazquez impressed with his timely touches and understanding of the game and exchanged some passes with right-back Dani Carvajal in the final third.

#2 Atletico were over-reliant on Griezmann and Alvaro Morata could not impress

Antoine Griezmann continues to be Atletico's talisman and scored his 17th goal of the season yesterday. He was behind almost every Atletico move worthy of a mention and played the role of a #10 to perfection. However, Morata could not impress for Atletico and had a peripheral presence in the match.

Atletico depends too much on Griezmann on the attacking front, and this over-reliance remains one of their glaring drawbacks. Midfielder Thomas, who was sent off in the 80th minute, also tried hard in the first half with some timely interceptions in the midfield, but could not stop the flow of Real Madrid’s attacks.

Atletico kept pressing hard in the midfield, and also managed to score with the help of a lovely through pass to Griezmann, but lacked ideas upfront in general. Their counter-attacking game was too predictable at times and did not trouble the Real defenders much.

Morata would have to step up his game if Atletico is to have any realistic chance of getting the better of Juventus in their round of 16 clashes in the UEFA Champions League.

#3 Real’s midfield looked stronger with Casemiro’s inclusion and Modric’s attacks

Casemiro did not play in the Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona last week, and his inclusion in the starting eleven yesterday added muscle to the Real midfield. He also scored with a stunning volley in the first half and kept Griezmann on check throughout the match.

Real always tend to perform better whenever Luka Modric is given the freedom to attack, and yesterday was no exception. Casemiro’s presence in the middle third allowed Modric to attack frequently, and he went near the Atletico penalty box on quite a few occasions. He also moved to the right flank at times and delivered some incisive crosses to the box.

Real dominated the match with 66 per cent ball possession, as Toni Kroos pulled strings from the midfield with his astute passing. Ramos and Varane held firm in the defence and did not allow Atletico to make a comeback in the second half.