By David Awopetu
Real Madrid showed why they are Liga champions with a convincing 2-0 home win over Atletico Madrid in the derby on Saturday to end the pacesetters’ unbeaten start to the league season.
Real Madrid deservedly took the lead in the 15th minute when Casemiro headed home from a corner, leaving Atletico behind for the first time in their 11th league game of the season.
Dani Carvajal put Zinedine Zidane’s Real side further at ease with a stunning strike in the 63rd minute which came off the post and into the net off keeper Jan Oblak for an own goal.
Real climb to third, while Atletico remain one point above Real Sociedad.
Both sides safely progressed to the Champions League last 16 with 2-0 victories in midweek, as Real beat Borussia Monchengladbach to win Group B and Atletico Madrid overcame RB Salzburg to finish second to Bayern Munich.
In La Liga, Diego Simeone’s side had won seven consecutive league games going into the derby, conceding just twice in their first 10 La Liga fixtures.
But it was Real who dominated in the early stages and Oblak produced an excellent save to tip Karim Benzema’s shot onto the post before Casemiro’s opener.
Simeone responded to a disappointing first half with three changes and his side were much improved after the break, though substitute Thomas Lemar shot agonisingly wide from Marcos Llorente’s low cross after 55 minutes.
That miss proved pivotal, as Carvajal’s powerful attempt doubled Real’s advantage seven minutes later.
Thibaut Courtois produced a good save from Saul Niguez to deny Atletico a late lifeline with their only shot on target, as the visitors fell to a first defeat in 26 league games – since a 1-0 loss in this fixture on 1 February.
