I don’t think any of us quite expected that.
We were well aware of Atlético’s dismal start to the season, so when Real Madrid rocked up to the Metropolitano with a perfect record, any nerves was understandable;
defeat meant that the Rojiblancos would be 12 points adrift of their city rivals — too tall a mountain to climb even at this early stage of the season.
Thankfully though, we do not have to talk about any of that, for Atleti’s stunning performance yesterday gives us our biggest reason for celebration so far this season.
All guns blazing
For the first time in nearly 75 years, Atlético put five goals past Real, the last occasion being a 6-3 victory back in November 1950. It may have become more common for us to battle harder with Los Blancos over the years, but this manner of victory has certainly been far and few.
When Robin Le Normand put Atleti ahead in the 14th minute, I personally hoped we would stay on the front foot after the excellent start that we had to the game. Atleti looked the more threatening side; Real were yet to muster up a shot or pose any meaningful threat. The Rojiblancos looked the best they had in a while from corners and set-pieces, and quite frankly looked likely to break the deadlock when they did.
Yet, at no point did I think that this would turn into an absolute goal fest. Even after the opener, Atleti had a few chances to extend the advantage; Kylian Mbappé‘s equalizer came against the run of play. The Frenchman ran right through the defence to put the visitors on level terms, and a stunned Atleti lost their grip on the game. Just over 10 minutes later, Arda Güler fired Real Madrid into the lead.
What followed though was simply extraordinary. The game was still in the balance when Alexander Sørloth dragged the hosts back level with a well-taken header — that was the spark Atleti needed. All too often this year, they have succumbed to the game state and lost early momentum, but going into the second half level on terms was just the platform that they needed.
Then began the mayhem. Atleti peppered the box with crosses, continued their set-piece threat — and by the time Real had their first shot of the second half, the Rojiblancos were already two goals up. Julián Alvarez deservedly has his own section in this piece, but the way the shackles came off the attack absolutely must be the standard going forward.
There is a very long way to go this season, but if we can see more of the fight that we saw this week across both city derbies, then the ending could look pleasantly different from the start.
Julián Alvarez. That’s it.
Atleti are fortunate to have had some world-class strikers don their colors. They have developed great strikers, Sergio Agüero and Diego Costa for example, and have also signed great ones in the twilight of their careers like Luis Suárez and David Villa.
But how often has a forward been here at the absolute peak of their powers?
Radamel Falcao was one of the best on that list, and Antoine Griezmann is the all-time leading goalscorer for a reason, but Alvarez is staking a claim to possibly become the best of the lot.
A hattrick in midweek was followed up by a brace in this game, and perhaps the best part of it all is that none of these five goals were similar. Against Rayo Vallecano, Alvarez had an excellent first-time finish from a cross, a tap-in from a teammate’s shot, and a stunning strike from range. Here, it was a confident penalty and a sublime, unstoppable free kick.
The fact that Alvarez has so many routes to goal makes him so dangerous and so hard to stop. Add to this his effectiveness at just about everything else, in the buildup and creative play, and this is genuinely one of the best, if not the best, forwards in world football right now. There is no wonder Thierry Henry is on record stating the same.
With every passing performance, there is growing speculation that Alvarez will eventually leave the Metropolitano, but the forward himself has never so much as hinted at the same. Falcao and Griezmann both ended up moving away, and if Alvarez follows suit, it just might be the most painful day of supporting the club bar none. He is a serial winner and is doing his absolute best to make Atleti a club that can genuinely aspire to that each season. We need to do everything possible to ensure that he wins his trophies here.
Some cause for concern?
Not to be that guy but it might be good to exercise some caution here. We have been watching Atlético long enough to know that getting carried away comes with its consequences so, to protect us if it does come to that again, let’s look at some of the not-so-good aspects from this game.
Real Madrid should not have scored the goals that they did. Both goals were a result of schoolboy defending and the Rojiblancos are fortunate that it did not matter in the grand scheme of things. Mbappé’s goal was eerily similar to the Álvaro García goal conceded in midweek, the star forward having a free run to goal from nearly the halfway line. Lenglet stepped out late when he did not really need to, allowing the forward to pass around him with ease.
That left side continues to look vulnerable. Dávid Hancko is the best option at both left center-back and left-back, which makes it very hard for Cholo Simeone to decide what his combination should be. The right side has looked far better, largely because of Marcos Llorente’s incredible start to the season, but Le Normand has certainly improved over the past few games as well. However, both these players found themselves on the wrong side of a simple flick from Vinícius Júnior, which gave the Brazilian all the time in the world to pick out an unmarked Güler for the visitors’ second goal. The disorientation for this goal was worrying, especially considering how it came at such a crucial juncture and afforded Real a come-from-behind lead.
It is not going to be every game that the attack can turn up the way they did yesterday, so the Rojiblancos need to be as focused defensively as possible. The Liverpool game earlier this month is a prime example of how early errors eventually cost Atlético a famous result despite Llorente’s attacking heroics. Repeats of that can easily put the side out of cups and further away from a league title challenge.
Still though, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic going forward. Álex Baena featured on the bench and notched up an assist after coming on in the 90th minute, so his full return is imminent. All eyes are on Thiago Almada, Johnny Cardoso and José María Giménez as they near returns from their own injuries, giving the squad an even bigger boost.
