Atlético Madrid Beat Ten Man Real In Derby

Atlético Madrid claimed a dramatic 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in a heated Madrid derby at the Metropolitano, moving above their city rivals into second place in LaLiga. The opening half was dominated by tension rather than goals, with both sides involved in several heated incidents. Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham was initially shown a yellow card for a challenge involving Cristian Romero, but VAR intervened and the booking was instead given to the Atlético defender. Real players also appealed for a red card following a challenge involving Lee Kang-in and Federico Valverde. The match changed early in the second half when Real defender Dean Huijsen was sent off after bringing down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area. Alejandro Grimaldo stepped up and converted the resulting penalty in the 53rd minute to give Atlético the lead. Just six minutes later, Atlético doubled their advantage. Lee Kang-in and Giuliano Simeone combined down the right before Simeone's low cross found Jonathan David, who finished first time past Thibaut Courtois. Real Madrid continued to push despite being a player down and eventually found a way back into the contest. Antonio Rüdiger headed home from a late free kick in the 89th minute, giving Real hope of an equaliser. Atlético, however, held on to secure all three points. The defeat leaves Real Madrid one point behind Atlético and six points behind unbeaten Barcelona, who have won all seven of their league matches. Atlético have now moved into second place with 16 points. After the match, Real Madrid manager José Mourinho criticised the refereeing, arguing that two Atlético challenges should have resulted in red cards. Atlético manager Diego Simeone called for restraint and said the focus should remain on the football and his team's performance. The derby victory gives Atlético another important result as they attempt to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, while Real Madrid will now look to respond after suffering their second league defeat of the season.