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— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 12, 2021
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¡🔟 victorias seguidas! pic.twitter.com/dvkxD7zXql
Full time: Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Peep peep! Real Madrid move eight points clear at the top of La Liga - and 13 ahead of Atletico - after a clinical victory at the Bernabeu. There wasn’t much between the teams, and you probably could make a case that Atletico were the better side. But Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored superb goals, both made by Vinicius Jr, to demoralise and ultimately break Atletico.
90+2 min Courtois makes one last save, this time when Joao Felix’s blistering volley hits him right in the kisser. That was Atletico’s seventh shot on target to Real’s three.
90 min Three minutes of added pain for Atletico.
88 min In a surprising development, Luis Suarez has been booked after squaring up to David Alaba. I think Alaba was also booked.
86 min And another change for Real: Rodrygo replaces the brilliant Vinicius Jr., who made both goals with precise, head-up passes for Benzema and Asensio.
85 min Another change for Real. Fede Valverde comes on for Marco Asensio, whose excellent goal took the wind out of Atletico’s sails.
84 min Atletico win three corners in quick succession. The third is played short to Llorente, who overhits his cross so badly that it goes out for a throw-in.
81 min Herrera - who came on for Rodrigo De Paul in the 69th minute, and yes I did miss it - is booked for a very late tackle on Modric. Before play restarts Real make another change, with Nacho replacing Dani Carvajal at right-back.
80 min Atletico, to their credit, haven’t given this up. Mendy fouls Lemar just outside the area on the right. He takes the free-kick itself, whipping it into the six-yard box, and Courtois throws himself in front of an Atletico player to palm the ball behind for a corner.
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79 min “I know you said it’s too soon,” says Simon McMahon, “but I’m already looking forward to seeing Messi win the FIFA World Player of the Decade, presented to him after the 2030 World Cup final on the moon.”
78 min A teasing low cross from Mendy just evades the stretcing Vinicius Jr in the six-yard box.
76 min Lemar’s inswinging free-kick beats everyone in the middle and is pushed away by the diving Courtois, who did really well to keep his eye on the ball with so many Atletico players throwing themselves towards it. As Terry Gibson says on La Liga TV, that’s a much better save than it looks.
73 min For 99 per cent of the game Atletico have been Real’s equals. The difference has been the conviction of Real’s finishing.
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69 min Llorente’s dangerous cross is half cleared by Militao in the six-yard box. The ball hits Alaba and then rolls through the legs of Suarez, who couldn’t react quickly enough to control it. In his defence, he had almost no reaction time.
67 min The second goal has finished Atletico, who are drowning in fatalism. Jovic, the Real substitute, beats Hermoso neatly on the edge of the area but then stabs the ball well wide.
65 min As things stand Real are eight points clear of Sevilla, who have a game in hand. Carlo Ancelotti didn’t win La Liga in his first spell at Real; if he does it this season he’ll have won the title in five different countries.
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64 min “What gives (54 min)?” says Kári Tulinius. “Messi gives. Also Simeone, but mostly Messi. And a bunch of other very good players Messi played with, and there were some good managers too involved. But mostly Messi.”
It’s too soon to bring his name up. I’m still reeling from him winning the Ballon d’Or this year, not to mention the Golden Ball at the 2014 World Cup.
61 min Lemar’s cross is headed over by Hermoso, eight yards out. A half chance.
60 min Another double change for Atletico: Luis Suarez and Renan Lodi replace Matheus Cunha and Angel Correa.
It was another ruthless team goal from Real. A long ball forward was headed on to Jovic, who held off an Atletico defender and gave the ball to Vinicius Jr on the left. He looked up and calmly played the ball across the area to Asensio, who swept a low first-time shot past Oblak from 15 yards. That’s an excellent finish.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid (Asensio 57)
Atletico have been brilliant since half-time, and now they’re 2-0 down.
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57 min Another opening for Atletico. Joao Felix lays the ball off to Lemar, just inside the area, but his touch is heavy and Militao blocks. He should have hit that first time.
54 min It’s hard to compute, given their size, resources and domination of the Champions League, that Real have won La Liga only three times in the last 13 seasons. What gives, man?
52 min An imaginative volleyed pass from Joao Felix, who has looked very sharp since coming on, is miscontrolled by Cunha. That was another half chance for Atletico.
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51 min: Another save from Courtois! Joao Felix moseys infield from the left and plays a no-look through pass to Cunha. He holds off Militao and forces a first-time shot from eight yards that is blocked by Courtois. Excellent goalkeeping.
50 min Much better from Atletico. Lemar fires a cross into Correa, who controls it well at the near post and tees up Joao Felix on the edge of the area. His first-time shot is beautifully struck but too close to Courtois, who grabs it at the second attempt.
48 min: Chance for Asensio! Real open Atletico up with some crisp passing. Eventually Vinicius plays in Asensio, who takes too long trying to work the ball onto his left foot and is crowded out. He manages to poke the ball back to Vinicius, whose shot is blocked.
46 min Peep peep! Atletico begin the second half.
And Real Madrid have made a change, presumably because of injury - Luka Jovic replaces the goalscorer Karim Benzema.
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Atletico have made a double substitution at half time - Thomas Lemar and Joao Felix replace Griezmann and Carrasco.
Half-time reading
If it stays like this, Real will be 18 (E-I-G-H-T-E-E-N) points ahead of Barcelona tonight.
Half time: Real Madrid 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid lead in the derby through Karim Benzema’s marvellous volley. That was the outstanding moment in a scruffy, occasionally nasty 45 minutes. See you soon for the second half.
45 min Mendy is booked for elbowing Correa in the neck. He was trying to hold him off rather than hurt him, but Correa made the most of it.
44 min Koke curls an excellent pass to find Griezmann on the left side of the area. He controls it on the run but is expertly shepherded away from the ball by Militao.
42 min It’s been a bitty first half, with an undercurrent of spite. Put all the chips on a red card, is what I’m saying.
39 min Now Rodrigo is fortunate to avoid a yellow card for pulling back Kroos.
38 min: Chance for Real! Mendy plays the ball infield from the left to Casemiro on the edge of the area. He slides a short, straight pass to Vinicius, whose shot from a tight angle is pawed behind by Oblak. Casemiro’s pass was probably slightly too heavy.
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36 min Felipe is booked for a nasty tackle from behind on Asensio, with his studs going into the achilles. He could have been sent off for that. Vinicius Jr is unhappy about something, presumably the tackle, and is now having a slanging match with the referee! I’m surprised he wasn’t booked for that as well.
35 min: Good save from Courtois! Griezmann curls it towards the far top corner, and Courtois leaps to his right to push it away. It looked spectacular but was a fairly comfortable save, mainly because his positioning was so good.
35 min Cunha is fouled just outside the area by Modric. The free-kick is a fair way to the right of centre, though not prohibitively so. Griezmann and Carrasco are over the ball...
32 min The shithousery has started. Both teams have been trying it on in the last few minutes, with regular stoppages for free-kicks.
30 min Carvajal is lucky not to be booked after plunging his studs into the top of Griezmann’s foot. It was a late tackle rather than a malevolent one, but it still looked pretty painful.
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29 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Talking of how much the world has changed since 2016, this time next year we’ll be at the semi-final stage of the World Cup in Qatar. Who needs Trump, Johnson, Brexit and a global pandemic to drag the mood down...?”
28 min The match is settling into a more familiar pattern, with lots of Real Madrid possession since the goal.
25 min At the other end, Militao wafts over from 30 yards with his left foot.
23 min Koke shoots well wide from distance.
23 min Here’s some exclusive footage of Atletico’s collective subconscious.
22 min Atletico started strongly but that goal has changed the mood and now Real have a bit of a swagger on.
20 min That was such a good finish from Benzema, a case study in technique but also certainty. It was utterly emphatic.
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Koke’s pass was cut out by Modric and Real were off on the break. Benzema, found by Casemiro in the centre circle, poked a pass out to Asensio on the right. He played a simple ball down the line to Vinicius, who made an excellent run from in to out. Vinicius lifted a precise cross towards Benzema, 15 yards from goal, and he twisted his body to slam a majestic volley past Oblak. The technique was immaculate.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Benzema 16)
Real take the lead with a marvellous goal!
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15 min Real are starting to come to life after a sluggish start, with Vinicius Jr having a couple of promising touches on the left.
13 min Atletico are actually playing a 4-4-2, with Kondogbia at centre-back and Hermoso on the left. Their Twitter feed, which said they were playing 3-5-2, fed us all little white lies.
11 min Real win their first corner. Kroos’s inswinger is headed on at the near post by Militao and flashes across in the six-yard box. That was pretty much a perfect flick-on from Militao, but none of the Real players anticipated it.
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10 min It’s been an excellent start from Atletico, whose attacking intent may have caught Real by surprise.
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8 min Carrasco plays it short to Correa, whose clipped cross takes a slight but vital touch off the head of the stretching Alaba. Cunha was waiting behind him and would have had a very good chance.
7 min Alaba is penalised for a shoulder charge on Correa. Free-kick to Atletico on the right wing...
4 min Cunha is bang up for this. He chests down a crossfield pass, wrestles Carvajal off the ball with disdain on the edge of the area and then blooters the ball over the bar.
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2 min Atletico have made a fast start. Llorente breaks down the right and sidefoots a low cross that only just evades the sliding Cunha at the near post.
1 min Peep peep! Real Madrid kick off from right to left, and Correa sets the agenda by fouling Kroos within the first 10 seconds.
Before kick off, Vinicius Jr receives his player of the month award for November. He really is in sparkling form.
The players stroll out of the tunnel and into the Madrid night. It’s not a full house at the Bernabeu but there’s a cracking atmosphere.
“Can’t wait for this game, especially after Atleti’s performance in midweek,” says Ruth Purdue. “The shithousery was something to behold.”
I didn’t see it but it sounds like Porto were well and truly bantered off.
Betis 4-0 Sociedad is the final score in Seville. That’s a spectacular victory for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, who have now won nine of their last 12 league games. Sociedad, who were top a month ago, have taken only one point from the last four games.
This is a typically good preview from Sid Lowe, full of nuggets and nice lines. It also contains a lovely use of the word “pessimistic” by Carlo Ancelotti.
This isn’t the only big game La Liga tonight. In the battle between third and fifth, Real Betis are trouncing Sociedad 4-0 with ten minutes remaining. Alex Moreno has just scored his second, with Juanmi and Nabil Fekir also troubling the scores.
Team news: Benzema starts
The Real captain Karim Benzema, who missed the midweek win over Internazionale through injury, is fit enough to start. Marco Asensio is preferred to Rodrygo as the right-sided attacker.
Luis Suarez, who like Benzema was a doubt for this game, is on the Atletico bench. Matheus Cunha starts up front alongside Antoine Griezmann.
Real Madrid (4-3-3) Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Substitutes: Lunin, Nacho, Hazard, Marcelo, Valverde, Jovic, Lucas Vazquez, Bale, Rodrygo, Isco, Mariano, Camavinga.
Atletico Madrid (3-5-2) Oblak; Kondogbia, Felipe, Hermoso; Llorente, Correa, De Paul, Koke, Carrasco; Cunha, Griezmann.
Substitutes: Renan Lodi, Trippier, Ibra, Lemar, Herrera, Serrano, Joao Felix, Suarez.
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But seriously folks... it’s a Madrid derby with bells on, because it’s also the leaders versus the champions. At the moment Real look by the far the best team in Spain, and if they win tonight there’s every chance they’ll run away with the title. But a defeat would give Atleti, Sevilla and the rest fresh hope they can be caught.
This being a derby match, the league table is only part of the story. Whatever the context, be it a Champions League final or the International Champions Cup, these teams just want to beat each other. Atleti are particularly desperate, as it’s nearly six years since their last victory over Real in La Liga. I would offer a few examples of how much the world has changed since then, but I don’t want to drag the mood down.
Preamble
It’s the Madrid derby. There’s your preamble!
Kick off 9pm in Madrid, 8pm GMT.
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