Alvaro Morata came back to haunt his former side as Atletico Madrid handed cross-town Real Madrid their first loss in LaLiga on Sunday night.
LaLiga
Result: Atletico Madrid 3-1 Real Madrid
Date: 24 September 2023
Venue: Estádio Cívitas Metropolitano
Los Blancos were still without Vinicius Junior who recovered from a hamstring injury but was ruled out with a bout of gastroenteritis, otherwise, Carlos Ancelotti made three change from a narrow win over Union Berlin in the UEFA Champions League, as Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde and Fran Garcia were brought in.
Atletico started brightly as Alvaro Morata gave them the lead within four minutes with a glancing header from Samuel Lino.
Diego Simeone's troops were spirited after that and Antoine Griezmann gave them a 2-0 lead on 18 minutes with another header in the box after a delicate cross by Saul Niguez.
Ancelotti's men raised their game and Kroos reduced the arrears ten minutes before the interval with a cracking shot towards the bottom corner after cutting inside the box.
Atletico could not have started the second stanza any better as Morata restored their two-goal lead and got his brace within a minute with a towering header in the box from a deep cross by Niguez.
Los Blancos looked to respond with a lot energy in the last third but they were not clinical in and around the box.
To add some firepower upfront in the last 20 minutes, Ancelotti made an attacking and tactical change, as Brahim Diaz replaced Kroos.
The game stretched from end to end in the closing stages and to take advantage of the turnovers, Simeone brought on the fresh legs of Memphis Depay in place of Morata.
Depay nearly made it 4-1 for Atletico from a counter-attack in stoppages with a low curling shot that flashed just wide of the far post.
Los Blancos had to settle for third spot on the table, one point behind leaders Barcelona while Atletico reduced the gap behind Ancelotti's men to five points in fifth spot.
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