Zinedine Zidane triumphs in Real Madrid’s victory over Atlético de Madrid

Real Madrid completed an impressive week by beating La Liga top Atletico Madrid to back up victories over Borussia Monchengladbach and Sevilla.

The loss to Shakhtar Donetsk on December 1 left Zinedine Zidane scrambling for his place after a losing streak in form, but the last three games have seen the Spanish champions complete a surprising turnaround, easing the pressure on the Frenchman.

Dani Carvajal returned to Real Madrid’s starting lineup, but Zidane kept Lucas Vázquez on his team, with the 29-year-old deployed on the right wing having replaced as a right-back in recent weeks.

Casemiro gave the defending champions the lead in the 15th minute, returning home on a corner kick from Toni Kroos after losing his man inside the six-yard box, marking the first time Atleti have trailed. in a league game this season.

Diego Simeone made three changes to start the mid-season, but Real Madrid doubled their lead when Carvajal’s powerful shot bounced off the net from the back of the unfortunate Jan Oblak.

Atlético de Madrid’s first league defeat of the season saw Real Madrid narrow the gap with their city rivals to just three points, although Simeone’s side still have one less game at the top of La Liga.

It didn’t take long for it to become apparent that Simeone had misjudged this derby with his team’s selection. The deployment of Joao Félix and Luis Suárez as two forwards left Atleti overwhelmed in the midfield. Even when Simeone made changes, he retired Felix just as the young Portuguese was starting to find some traction. Luis Suárez, for his part, was anonymous. Simeone has raised Atlético de Madrid as a title contender this season, but this was not the Argentine’s best night.

The main difference between the two Madrid rivals was in the midfield, where Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric controlled the match for the hosts. Casemiro was the most impressive of the trio, with the Brazilian opening the scoring for Real Madrid and overall setting the tone for what was an impressive performance. Casemiro appears frequently when it matters most and that is certainly what he did here.

Real Madrid – Courtois 7, Carvajal 8, Varane 5, Ramos 6, Mendy 6, Kroos 8, Casemiro 9, Modric 8, Vázquez 7, Benzema 7, Vinicius 6. Subs – Rodrygo 6, Asensio 5.

Atletico Madrid – Oblak 8, Trippier 4, Savic 5, Felipe 5, Hermoso 6, Llorente 6, Herrera 4, Koke 5, Carrasco 4, Suarez 4, Felix 5. Subs – Lemar 7, Correa 6, Saul 5, Lodi 7, Kondogbia 4.

12 & # 39; Off the post! So close to a spectacular Benzema opener! He unleashed the blow from the edge of the area, but Oblak gave him a finger to guide the ball into the wood! Woohoo! What a goal that would have been!

15 & # 39; GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Atlético de Madrid: The hosts are leading in the derby and that goal was coming! Casemiro sticks his head into the end of a corner kick into Kroos’ penalty area and pushes his effort to the back of the net and beats Oblak. Real Madrid is ahead!

56 & # 39; Out of the base of the post! Atlético de Madrid’s best chance at a distance! Llorente played a wonderful cross in the Real Madrid area, but Lemar could only hit the wood on the back post!

63 & # 39; GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Atlético de Madrid: Real Madrid have doubled their advantage and it is Carvajal who has found the back of the net. That could turn into an own goal for Oblak though, as the shot came off the post and then bounced off the net behind the goalkeeper.

Dani Carvajal scored his fifth goal in 191 league games for Real Madrid.

Atlético de Madrid failed to register a single shot in the first half of a league game for the second time in the last five seasons.