Real Madrid’s seven-match winning streak across all competitions to start the 2025/26 season came to a crashing halt as they were beaten 5-2 by Atletico Madrid at the Estadio Metropolitano.
The Madrid derby usually has big implications on the LaLiga title race, but even at this early stage, Los Blancos were looking to put 12 points between themselves and Atletico with victory here.
The form book is often said to go out of the window in derbies, and nowhere was that more evident than in the Spanish capital in the early stages as Diego Simeone’s men swarmed all over an out-of-sorts Real outfit.
Their dominance was rewarded in the 14th minute when they deservedly hit the front, as Robin Le Normand rose above Eder Militao to head home from Giuliano Simeone’s cross for just his second league goal in Atleti colours.
Xabi Alonso’s men were all over the place defensively and were on the ropes for much of the opening 20 minutes, but they showed exactly why they are at the summit of LaLiga with a ruthless equaliser.
Arda Guler’s inch-perfect through ball found Kylian Mbappe on the inside right, and the Frenchman made no mistake in slamming home his 12th goal in 10 matches for club and country this season.
Momentum was firmly with the visitors, and they made it count with another brilliant strike to take the lead. Provider of the first, Guler was on hand to score the second as he turned home on the half-volley from Vinicius Junior’s inch-perfect cross.
An extremely animated Simeone was jubilant on the sidelines again before half-time, however, when Koke’s searching cross from the left found Alexander Sorloth, who darted between Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras to head home an Atleti equaliser in stoppage time.
A drop in tempo may have been expected after the restart following such a frantic first period, but Atleti had other ideas and restored their lead within six minutes of kick-off.
Guler went from hero to zero for Los Blancos, conceding a penalty for a high foot on Nicolas Gonzalez, which was duly converted by Julian Alvarez, beating Thibaut Courtois even though the big Belgian dived the right way.
Just as they had done in the first half, Real were being torn apart at will here, with Courtois denying Sorloth before Alvarez curled home a gorgeous free-kick to put the hosts two goals ahead.
Alonso’s men had no answer this time, however, and were ultimately unable to muster any kind of response in a low-key final third of a blockbuster derby that saw Antoine Griezmann slide home a fifth for the rampant hosts.
It’s a result that could serve as the perfect launching pad for Atleti’s stuttering campaign, and while visitors Real remain at the summit, they could be usurped by Barcelona after just a second defeat in nine LaLiga away games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid)
