La Liga: Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid 2-1 in tense derby clash

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Atletico Madrid edged 10-man Real Madrid 2-1 in a La Liga derby clash on Sunday to leave Jose Mourinho’s side trailing leaders Barcelona by six points.

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Dean Huijsen was sent off early in the second half for Los Blancos before Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David’s goals earned Diego Simeone’s Atletico victory, with Antonio Rudiger pulling one back late on.

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Atletico rose to second, five points behind Barca and one ahead of Real Madrid, who chalked up a second defeat of the campaign.

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The game hinged on Huijsen’s red card early in the second period, for pulling down Giuliano Simeone in the box, which led to a penalty, tucked away by Grimaldo to set Atletico on their way.

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Mourinho started with Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield over Bernardo Silva, opting for defensive clout over creativity.

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There was more tension than footballing quality in the first half, with neither side capable of creating any clear chances.

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The main talking point was an incident between Jude Bellingham and Atletico defender Cristian Romero.

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The England international threw himself into a tackle, and Romero trod on his leg, with Bellingham booked initially, but after a VAR review the referee removed the card and issued it to the Atletico man.

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Madrid were also unhappy with a heavy tackle by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde which went unpunished just before half-time.

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It was a scrappy battle, intense but lacking excitement compared to the star power on the pitch, especially in Madrid’s front line, with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Bellingham kept quiet.

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The game burst into life early in the second half when Huijsen pulled back Giuliano Simeone’s arm as the forward ran through on goal and Atletico were awarded a penalty.

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Huijsen was dismissed after a VAR review, and Grimaldo beat Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from the penalty spot.

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Mourinho reacted immediately by replacing the underwhelming Vinicius and Arda Guler and sending on club record signing Yan Diomande and Rudiger.

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It was Atletico who struck next, though, with Canada international David tucking away Giuliano Simeone’s raking low cross on 59 minutes for his third goal in three matches.

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The hosts came close to getting a third, but Courtois made an excellent save to deny Julian Alvarez, and Ibrahima Konate reacted brilliantly to head Grimaldo’s effort from the rebound off the line.

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Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved from Diomande, and Bellingham rowed with Giuliano Simeone as Madrid’s frustrations showed, impotent to change the course of the game.

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Madrid pulled a goal back in the final stages with Rudiger heading Bernardo Silva’s cross past Oblak. However, it was too little too late for Mourinho’s side.

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AFP

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