In the early morning of March 5 (Vietnam time), Real Madrid hosted Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.
It was thought that the two teams would start the game cautiously because they had over-understood each other's playing style, but they were quite surprised when Real attacked first from the first minute. After only 4 minutes, they opened the scoring when Rodrygo turned the ball and fired a tricky shot to overcome Jan Oblak.
Having conceded early, Atletico were in no rush to find an equalizer. Simeone's players stay calm, try to control the ball and avoid getting caught up in Real Madrid's pace.
Gradually, Atletico had more possession, and the opportunities became clear. In the 32nd minute, Julian Alvarez escaped Eduardo Camavinga's chase on the left wing before launching a curling shot that defeated goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to equalize.
Early in the second half, Brahim Diaz trampled through a small space in the penalty area and fired a cross-angle shot to put Real ahead. In the remaining minutes, Atletico seemed to want to save their energy for the second leg, so they did not take any risks to attack.
Madrid had a good chance to score the third goal in extra time, but the pair Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior could not take advantage.
The 2-1 victory will help Real regain their spirits before visiting Metropolitano in the return match on March 13.
