Fresh off their Supercopa de Espana triumph, Real Madrid made the short trip to the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium for their Copa del Rey Round-of-16 meeting with crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid on Thursday night (January 18). Similar to the Supercopa de Espana semi-final clash, Thursday’s Derbi Madrileno reached its climax in extra time. But unlike in Saudi Arabia, Real Madrid were not on the right side of the scoreline, with Atletico inflicting a 4-2 defeat on their lofty rivals. It was Los Blancos’ second loss at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium this season, as they previously suffered a 3-1 away defeat to Los Rojiblancos in La Liga in September.
Atletico Madrid Dig Deep To Clinch Dramatic Win In Front Of Their Fans
Eight days after suffering a 5-3 defeat against bitterest foes Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, Atletico Madrid had their revenge in front of their passionate fans. Against the run of play, Diego Simeone’s side put their noses in front in the 39th minute, with Samuel Lino popping up with the go-ahead goal. Rodrigo De Paul floated a hopeful cross into the box, which Antonio Rudiger failed to clear. Lino reacted the quickest to the German’s mishap and beat both Daniel Carvajal and Andriy Lunin to find the back of the net.
Just before the halftime whistle, Atletico’s dependable goalkeeper Jan Oblak equalized for Los Blancos, courtesy of a botched punch-out that rolled the ball back onto his own net. In the 57th minute, former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata put Atletico Madrid back in front, once again thanks to Lunin and Rudiger. The goalkeeper misread the bounce of the ball and pushed it toward Rudiger, whose deflection allowed Morata to tap the ball in from point-blank range.
⚽️ ¡¡QUÉ GOLAZOOOO!! ¡¡MARCA GRIEZMANN!! ¡¡MARCA EL ATLÉTICO DE MADRID!!
Se adelanta de nuevo el conjunto rojiblanco con un tanto espectacular del galo.
🆚 @Atleti | 3-2 | @realmadrid | 100’
📺 @La1_tve
ℹ️ Minuto a Minuto: https://t.co/CAQw8fCr6Y#LaCopaMola🏆 | #CopaDelRey pic.twitter.com/ViSKO73KXV
— RFEF (@rfef) January 18, 2024
There was a little fight left in the Whites as they equalized through Joselu in the 82nd minute, pushing the game into extra time. However, it was one-way traffic in the added 30, as Atletico’s record goalscorer Antoine Griezmann scored a superb goal to restore his home team’s lead in the 100th minute. Substitute Rodrigo Riquelme scored the insurance goal in the 119th minute, knocking the defending champions out of the competition.
Jude Bellingham Was Real Madrid’s Best Player On Thursday
Arguably the best player in Europe at the moment, Jude Bellingham was easily Real Madrid’s best player on Thursday night. The Englishman created Joselu’s equalizer in superb fashion, finding the Spaniard with an outswinging cross from the right side of the box. He also dictated play with his inch-perfect passes, created multiple chances, and helped out at the back from start to finish.
The 20-year-old created a game-best four chances against Atletico in the Copa del Rey Round of 16. He also completed six out of eight dribbles, completed 77 of 87 passes (89% accuracy), and delivered three accurate long balls (100% accuracy). On the defensive front, he won a match-high 11 duels, made eight recoveries, and attempted two tackles.
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