Xabi Alonso, the manager of Real Madrid, took the blame for his team's collapse against their biggest rivals, Atlético Madrid, on Saturday afternoon. Alonso's team was in great shape for the first derby
of the season. They won seven games in a row to start the 2025–26 season in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and giving up only four. This weekend, they sent five. Real Madrid lost 5–2 in the Metropolitano, which was the first time they had given up five goals to Atlético since a 6–3 loss in 1950, when Santiago Bernabéu was the club's president instead of the stadium.
"It was a bad match. We didn’t start well, we didn’t play well collectively, nor in terms of the quality of our play with and without the ball. We are in a rebuilding phase, today is our first defeat, and this will continue. We have to learn from what happened, because it will surely serve us well in the future. But there are no excuses. We’re hurt, as are the fans. It was a derby, and it was a deserved defeat. We weren’t in the game, we lacked a gear, the defeat hurts," Xabi said in a press statement.
Real Madrid's worst defeat since 1950 to rivals
This tragic defeat for Real Madrid comes after 75 years. This shocking result also saw Diego Simeone's men end their rivals' perfect start to the 2025-26 season. Simeone got his players together and asked them a question before the derby on Saturday. “Of the important things in your life, is there anything wrong?” When they all shook their heads, the Argentine coach shot back: “Then play, have fun. The life of a footballer goes by very quickly, and these games don’t come back.” This was a great show for Atlético to enjoy. The hosts were all over the place in the first few minutes because of a planned strategy that Simeone talked about after the game.
About the game and Real Madrid, Simeone mentioned, “Real Madrid are one of the best teams in the world,” he began. “We had to play a great game today. From the start, we knew where we could do damage, with breakthroughs on the outside with Nico González, Pablo Barrios, Julián Alvarez, Giuliano Simeone... We took the center backs out and left Sørloth inside to create chances. I think, beyond their two goals, the team did well.”
