In the early morning of September 30 (Vietnam time), Real Madrid visited Atletico Madrid in round 8 of La Liga 2024-2025. This is the first El derbi Madrileno match of the season.
After Barcelona unexpectedly lost 2-4 at Osasuna on Saturday, Real Madrid have a chance to reduce the gap with their rivals to 1 point if they win at Atletico.
Inside a passionate stadium, the two teams started cautiously. Julian Alvarez, playing his first derby for Atletico, had the first chance of the game in the ninth minute, beating Antonio Rudiger and testing Thibaut Courtois from a tight angle.
It took Los Blancos until the 17th minute for goalkeeper Jan Oblak to work, with Federico Valverde taking a long-range shot.
As usual in a big match for the capital Madrid, there were many fierce tackles alternating throughout the first half. And although quite excited about the derby, the match was somewhat disjointed.
Oblak continued to work when he rejected Jude Bellingham's efforts, before Dani Carvajal's close-range header from a corner was blocked.
Real Madrid - without Kylian Mbappe due to injury - continued to play better after the break. Rodrygo Goes received a pass from Luka Modric to the edge of the penalty area, but his shot went over the bar.
Although coach Diego Simeone changed personnel at the beginning of the second half, it was Carlo Ancelotti's team that dominated and took the lead. In the 64th minute, Vinicius Junior crossed from the right wing, the ball came to Eder Militao's feet and the centre-back controlled the ball calmly before scoring the opening goal.
This goal caused tension in the stands and referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer asked the players to leave the field for nearly 20 minutes after many objects were thrown into Courtois' goal area.
Vinicius returned to the air, and after passing Jose Maria Gimenez, Oblak had to run long to clear the ball from outside the penalty area around the post.
Atletico stepped up their attack in stoppage time and finally found an equalizer. In the 90+5 minute, Angel Correa received a pass from Javi Galan and finished well after getting past Courtois.
Initially, this move was denied for offside, but VAR confirmed that the Argentine player was still standing at the top of the last defender.
The drama continued until the last minute, when Marcos Llorente of the home team received a red card in the 90+9 minute.
With a score of 1-1, Real Madrid has 18 points, is ranked 2nd and is 3 points behind Barca. Atletico has 16 points, ranked 3rd, while the next 4 teams all have 14 points.