Julian Alvarez scored twice as Atletico Madrid whallop city rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a derby clash at the Metropolitano on Saturday, ending Los Blancos’ unbeaten start to the season.
Xabi Alonso’s side had won all six of their matches, but were outplayed in his first Madrid derby as coach, conceding five goals against Atletico for the first time since 1950.
Robin Le Normand headed Atletico into an early lead before Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler struck to turn the game in Real’s favour. However, Alexander Sørloth equalised in first-half stoppage time to set up a pulsating second half.
Alvarez then took centre stage, converting from the penalty spot before curling in a brilliant free-kick to put Atletico firmly in control.
Antoine Griezmann capped the victory late on, sparking wild celebrations as Diego Simeone’s side moved up to fourth in the table.
Despite Mbappe netting his eighth league goal of the season, Real’s defensive errors were brutally exposed. Jude Bellingham, starting his first game since shoulder surgery, struggled to make an impact.
“There are no excuses; we are hurting. It’s a derby and a deserved defeat,” admitted Alonso, as Barcelona could overtake his team at the top of La Liga with a win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
For Simeone, the result was a huge statement after a mixed start to the campaign.
“From the start of the game, we knew where we could hurt them,” said the Atletico coach. “Today was a very, very good performance. There’s a lot of emotion; we needed this.”
