Real Madrid suffered their way to a 5-2 defeat against Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday afternoon as they came back from behind only to surrender a lead and lose. In the team’s first loss of the season, Los Blancos watched Robin Le Normand give the Colchoneros the lead before striking with a double whammy from Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler. The joy didn’t extend to half-time as Alexander Sørloth headed in a second for the home team, with Julián Álvarez then adding
two early in the second half from a penalty-kick and a free-kick.
Three answers
1. Would Jude Bellingham start?
The England international has come back with 10 minutes last weekend and 20 minutes in midweek, but even so it was something of a surprise to see him thrown into the starting line-up to take on Atlético Madrid. Ahead of Franco Mastantuono, Brahim Díaz or Rodrygo Goes, Bellingham was chosen which represented a change not only in personnel but also in the set-up, with Bellingham operating in a central role. By half-time, it was clear that it was the wrong decision. Bellingham didn’t look fit enough for the intensity of this game, which was something Xabi Alonso discussed at length in his pre-match press conference, and failed to give the needed support to the defence, exposing Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouameni in the middle. In the end, Bellingham played 70 minutes, longer than Arda Gúler who was standing out, and it may be seen by the coach as an investment in his fitness rather than an immediate benefit.
2. Is this Real Madrid’s first big test of the season?
There can certainly be no complaints about winning seven from seven to start the season, but it’s also true that Real Madrid were yet to face a stern test under Xabi Alonso since the start of the 2025/26 campaign. Other than the Champions League game against Olympique Marseille, none of Real Madrid’s opponents this season had qualified for Europe, with Osasuna and Mallorca in ninth and 10th being the toughest opponents. This time around, Atlético Madrid have been in poor form with only two wins from their opening six league and one European fixture, but remain a tough side to face under Diego Simeone. The way in which Real Madrid fell apart defensively, particularly with almost every aerial ball into the box, is an immediate concern for the club.
3. Would Real Madrid be able to end a poor run at the Metropolitano?
Real Madrid haven’t been able to win on any of their last four visits to the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano, even if that record may feel different due to the penalty shoot-out win after a 1-1 tie on aggregate following the 1-0 defeat on their last visit in the Champions League in March of this year. The defeat here was Real Madrid’s first time conceding five against Atlético Madrid in a competitive fixture since 1950. Within 90 minutes, Real Madrid have not fallen to such a defeat against Atlético since that game in 2015 at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
Three questions
1. Is anyone capable of stopping Kylian Mbappé?
This was far from Kylian Mbappé’s finest afternoon, but with little service, he deserves credit for the way in which he strode away and equalised with a deft finish to score the team’s first goal. It was his 10th goal of the season after eight games, and the Frenchman is carrying the weight of this side. Atlético had Koke sitting very deep, alongside three natural central defenders in the shape of David Hancko, Clement Lenglet and Robin Le Normand, yet he still managed to achieve the movement needed to stretch the Atlético defence. His goal came from a perfectly-timed run and a precisely-executed finish.
2. Why were Real Madrid’s defence so poor in the air?
Two first-half headed goals conceded would be a real concern for Xabi Alonso, who has repeatedly praised the team’s structure and system in defending this season. When Alexander Sørloth headed in just before the break, a moment which would prove to be a turning point in the course of the game, it became the eighth goal of the last 10 that Atlético Madrid have scored against Real Madrid to be a header. Here, it came as Sørloth got in between Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras, two players who were both enduring arguably their worst performances of the season and who were unable to handle the physicality of the Norwegian. If Éder Militão was playing through the pain, after going down early in the first half and going off at half-time, it would offer some explanation, but the defensive unit lost all of its structure that has been clear this season.
3. Did Xabi Alonso get it wrong?
Real Madrid went wrong on many fronts on Saturday afternoon, but many fingers will be pointing at the coach in his first high-profile game in charge in La Liga. Real Madrid have got the job done well in every game this season but have yet to excel and stand out, and this follows a similarly painful defeat in the Club World Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. The coach didn’t help himself when he made the decision to bring in Jude Bellingham, unbalancing a midfield formula which has worked well, and effectively gambled. The result was Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouameni looking lost in a changed structure and losing their usual dominance of the game, while Bellingham himself contributed little. The less brave move could have been to stick with Franco Mastantuono or Brahim Díaz on the right flank, but the choice not to means that Alonso himself will face the music for much of the criticism after this defeat.
