On an unforgettable afternoon at the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Atlético Madrid recorded a thrilling 5-2 victory over Real Madrid which was historic in many ways, with new records set and long-standing
runs broken.
Xabi Alonso joined an elite Diego Simeone club
The Real Madrid coach visited the Metropolitano in his new job for the first time, having previously visited with Bayer Leverkusen. In doing so, he became the seventh man to face Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid as both a player and a coach in La Liga. Alongside him in the club are Xavi Hernández, Andoni Iraola, Íñigo Pérez, Álvaro Rubio, Leo Franco, and Luis García Fernández.
A worrying trend in Jan Oblak’s season
For the fifth time in eight games this season, Atlético Madrid’s goalkeeper was beaten by the very first shot on target. It’s a concerning trend for the Slovenian shotstopper, who was beaten at the first attempt by Elche, Alavés, Liverpool and Rayo Vallecano, before Kylian Mbappé laughed his way past some woeful positioning from Clément Lenglet to score with Real Madrid’s first sniff at goal.
Veteran Koke provides the assist
When Koke swung in the ball for Alexander Sørloth to head in and equalise shortly before half-time, the captain became the oldest player ever to provide an assist for Atlético Madrid in a Madrid derby.
Only one man has ever registered an assist at an older age than Koke’s 33 years and 262 days, that being Luka Modrić, who provided an assist for Álvaro Rodríguez in a 1-1 draw at the Bernabéu at 37 years and 169 days of age.
Alexander Sørloth’s record against the Clásico duopoly
The Norwegian striker came into this game amid real criticism after his red card against Mallorca and with only one goal to date in 2025/26, and his failure to capitalise on an early chance probably didn’t ease that pressure either. But when he headed in, making it eight headers in the team’s last 10 goals against Real Madrid, he scored his 11th goal in 14 games against Real Madrid and FC Barcelona across stints at Real Sociedad, Villarreal and now Atlético Madrid.
A rare 2-2 at half-time
A Madrid derby hadn’t been 2-2 at Atlético’s home stadium at half-time since 1959. In La Liga, you’d have to go back to 2012 to find a single game in which there were more goals in 90 minutes than in the first 45 here, when Real Madrid won 4-1 with a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.
The last time a game went into the break at 2-2 in a Madrid derby at Atlético’s home, it ended in a 3-3 tie with Enrique Collar and Alfredo Di Stéfano among the goalscorers.
Atleti’s good record of penalties in the derby
It may seem hard to believe given some refereeing decisions over the years, but this was Atleti’s third penalty in a row against Real Madrid in derbies, with Los Blancos not having been awarded any since 2019. During that spell of six years, Atlético have been given three in La Liga derbies.
Julián Alvarez matches Luis Suárez
Two of Atlético Madrid’s most iconic strikers of this century form an exclusive club which belongs only to those two players, that of scoring from a penalty and a free-kick in the same game. Only these two men have achieved that feat in the 21st century, with Suárez doing so against Cádiz in November 2021. Now, Julián has joined the club on an even bigger stage, doing so against Real Madrid.
Seventeen years since a free-kick goal
When Alvarez whipped in a free-kick to make it 4-2, it became the first direct free-kick that Atlético Madrid have scored against Real Madrid since Simão achieved the same feat 17 years ago with a late consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat.
A joint-longest unbeaten streak in the derby
The run now stretches to six games without defeat against the rivals from the other side of the city, equalling the club’s best-ever record. The previous occasion came with the concluding game of that run taking place in February 2016, when Diego Simeone was at the helm for a similar run of four wins and two draws.
Seventy-five years since Atleti scored five
The last time that Atlético Madrid scored four against Real Madrid in LaLiga came in the historic 4-0 win at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in 2015, but to find the last time Atleti recorded five, you’d have to go all the way back to November 12th, 1950. That is 75 years ago. That time, it ended 6-3 to Atlético Madrid.
