Real Madrid trounced Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Bernabeu on Sunday, moving 13 points clear of their local rivals in the LaLiga league. Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored the goals.
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In the 16th minute, Benzema scored his 13th league goal of the season, volleying Vinicius Junior's cross past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
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After halftime, the visitors improved before Asensio completed a merciless 57th-minute counter-attack to seal Real's 10th successive win in all competitions.
After victories against rival championship contenders Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and now Atletico Madrid in recent weeks, Real Madrid currently holds an eight-point lead at the top of LaLiga with 17 games remaining.
"Winning a derby is incredibly important to our supporters, and I'm sure they were very thrilled when they exited the stadium," Asensio told reporters.
"Vinicius is performing brilliantly, and we are pleased with his improvement this season. He's doing everything: scoring and assisting. We're all delighted for him."
Thibaut Courtois had an early task when he stopped Marcos Llorente's cross with Matheus Cunha, who had been selected ahead of Luis Suarez in Atletico's assault, poised to pounce.
Real Madrid began to gain control after that. Before Benzema, who has been LaLiga's best player so far this season, opened the score, Eder Militao's near-post header went over the face of goal.
Atletico's greatest chance came from Antoine Griezmann, whose free kick was saved by Courtois diving at full stretch, while Vinicius challenged Oblak at the other end before halftime.
During the break, both managers made adjustments. Carlo Ancelotti replaced striker Benzema with Luka Jovic, while Diego Simeone made a double substitute, replacing Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco with Joao Felix and Thomas Lemar.
"We were effective," Ancelotti remarked after the game, adding that his club was now the obvious LaLiga favourites. "At the back, we had stability. They played a lot of long balls and attempted to sneak in behind us with Correa. We were startled to see that they played 4-4-2, so we had to press our fullbacks a little harder, but after the first goal, we had control of the game.
"Of sure, you might say we're favourites today. We've played great, outperforming the competition. We're focused on the upcoming games, and losing concentration psychologically may be costly. We're doing well; the only way to go closer to winning sooner is to keep going."
Asensio had the opening chance of the second half, but instead of taking a fast shot, he decided to spin into a cluster of Atletico defenders inside the box.
Before Atletico were undone on the counter, Felix made an impression, forcing Courtois to save before putting in Cunha to do the same.
Vinicius earned his second assist of the game, his last pass finding Asensio, who swept the ball past Oblak with ease.
With 15 minutes remaining, Courtois made a fine save from Lemar, and Vinicius couldn't get enough of a touch on Ferland Mendy's threatening cross, as Luka Modric controlled the game from midfield.With 15 minutes remaining, CourtoisWith 15 minutes remaining, Courtois made a fine save from Lemar, and Vinicius couldn't get enough of a touch on Ferland Mendy's threatening cross, as Luka Modric controlled the game from made a fine save from Lemar, and Vinicius couldn't get enough of a touch on Ferland Mendy's threatening cross, as Luka Modric controlled the game from midfield.
After the game, Ancelotti praised Modric and others, saying, "Modric, three points, steadiness at the back, clean sheet, Courtois, Vinicius... there was a lot."
"In every aspect, [Modric] played a magnificent game, with the ball, without the ball, with personality and character, he's an exceptional player.”
With Real's 2-0 win, Atletico has now gone 11 LaLiga derbies without a win, dating back to 2016. Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone recognised after the game that his club was up against a top-flight opponent.
Simeone stated, " "The most essential thing in football is to be clinical. At the moment, Madrid are extremely clinical. They have an opportunity, and they take advantage of it. From there, the game takes a turn for the worst. We had a few chances early in the second half, but they took advantage of the counter-attack and scored a fantastic goal to win the game fairly."