Atletico Madrid secured the bragging rights in the Madrid derby after defeating LaLiga champions Real Madrid 1-0 on Sunday night.
LaLiga
Result: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid
Date: 08 May 2022
Venue: Wanda Metropolitano Stadium
Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti made wholesale changes to the side that beat Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, as only Eder Militao, Nacho, Toni Kroos and Casemiro were retained.
Diego Simeone's charges were quick out of the blocks in the opening exchanges, as they carved out chances but they lacked the finishing touches in front of goal.
Los Blancos were happy to absorb the pressure and spring forward on counter-attacks, but the game came to life ten minutes before the halftime break after the referee initially waved away Atletico's appeals for a penalty after Jesus Vallejo brought down Matheus Cunha in the box.
After a couple of minutes, the referee revisited the incident on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR)'s pitch-side monitor, changed his own decision and eventually awarded a penalty, which Yannick Carrasco converted.
Ancelotti's troops were more on the front foot in the early stages of the second stanza as Casemiro had a big chance to level matters on the hour-mark after a through ball by Marco Asensio but he shot straight into the arms of shot-stopper Jan Oblak.
The Italian mentor reacted just after that with a double change, as Casemiro made way for Federico Valverde in midfield and Vinicius Junior came on for Luka Jovic upfront.
Valverde made an immediate impact for Los Blancos, as he came very close twice to finding the equaliser firstly with a strike that missed the bottom corner by a whisker and 20 minutes before time with a rocket that forced Oblak into a fine save.
However, the game opened up as Carrasco was denied the second goal for Atletico in the last 13 minutes by the post after curling strike in the box.
The encounter remained on the edge in the dying minutes, as both sides had chances but Atletico eventually held on to a crucial win, as they steered six points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis in fourth spot on the log.
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