Simeone Finally Gets The Better Of Mourinho As Atletico Beat 10-Man Real Madrid
Diego Simeone ended a long losing run against Jose Mourinho as Atletico Madrid beat 10-man Real Madrid 2-1 at the Metropolitano, with Dean Huijsen's red card and a Jonathan David goal moving Atletico above their rivals into second place in La Liga.
Huijsen's Red Card Turns The Derby In Atletico's Favour
Diego Simeone finally got the better of Jose Mourinho, whose Real Madrid side had beaten Atletico in all three of their previous derby meetings during his first spell in charge of the club, winning all six of his La Liga games against Atletico between 2010 and 2013. This time it was Simeone's afternoon: Real Madrid were reduced to 10 men in the 52nd minute when Dean Huijsen was shown a straight red card, upgraded from a yellow after a VAR review, for pulling down Giuliano Simeone as the last man inside the box. Alejandro Grimaldo scored the resulting penalty a minute later, sending goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois the wrong way, and Atletico doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Jonathan David slid in to convert a Giuliano Simeone cross, becoming the first Atletico player this century to score in each of his first three La Liga appearances for the club.
Rudiger's Late Header Not Enough For Real Madrid
Real Madrid pulled a goal back in the 89th minute through Antonio Rudiger, who headed in from a Bernardo Silva free-kick, but Atletico held on to win 2-1 and move above their city rivals into second place in La Liga, five points behind leaders Barcelona. It capped a feisty afternoon that also saw Cristian Romero booked for a challenge on Jude Bellingham, and a heated clash involving Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger and Atletico's Morten Hjulmand at half-time over a late foul by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde, who was later confirmed to have suffered ankle trauma in the match.
Mourinho Produces Printed Photos To Attack The Referee
Jose Mourinho was furious after the match, telling reporters that Atletico should have had two players sent off, referring to the Romero challenge on Bellingham and the Lee Kang-in foul on Valverde. He brought printed photographs of both incidents to his post-match press conference, saying: "They're two clear red cards. With the difficulties we had afterwards -- with 11 versus 10 -- you could imagine what it would have been like [for us] for 50 minutes with 11 versus nine." Mourinho also criticised referee Ortiz Arias directly, questioning why a 41-year-old official without international experience had been appointed to the fixture, and said Real Madrid's rivals Atletico and Barcelona had both benefited from favourable refereeing decisions in recent weeks. Real Madrid head into the international break fourth in La Liga, six points behind Barcelona and one behind Atletico, having lost two of their seven league games so far this season.
Photo: X-@atletienglish