Atletico 2-1 Real Madrid: How Los Blancos fell into Giuliano's trap

Supporters had demanded far more from Giuliano Simeone during the opening stretch of the campaign after a run of performances well below his best. While he showed glimpses of joy against Marc Cucurella before the break, he took complete command for Atleti in the second half. He drew the red card from Dean Huijsen and handed Grimaldo the chance to tuck away the spot-kick. Shortly after, he tore down the wing to whip in a sublime delivery into the box for Jonathan David. With the score at 2-0, he unsettled the visitors, expertly deploying the dark arts and completely knocking Jude Bellingham off his stride.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, were a pale shadow of their imperious best. Following an even opening 45 minutes, Los Blancos were left furious with referee Ortiz Arias, demanding a red card for 'Cuti' Romero and another for Kang-In Lee after a stamp on Fede Valverde's ankle. Yet after the restart, they offered nothing. Failing to fashion openings or sustain any pressure, they chased shadows and scarcely tested Jan Oblak—an alarming surrender on such a crucial date in the calendar.

Atletico Madrid: A rather timid opening half featured occasional dangerous deliveries from wide areas but lacked zip in possession. However, the hosts took a commanding step forward in the second period, growing in stature once they forged the 1-0 breakthrough. From that moment on, they played with far greater intensity, dictated the tempo, and showed relentless ambition to kill the contest, comprehensively outplaying Madrid throughout the final stretch with the extra man firmly in their favour.

Real Madrid: Threatening only fleetingly through speculative, long-range efforts from Vinicius and Tchouameni in the first half, they lacked the incisiveness required to carve out clear-cut chances. Huijsen's dismissal unravelled them entirely. Consumed by refereeing grievances—protesting stamps by Romero and Lee—they failed to muster any sustained threat against Atleti. Bernardo's arrival injected a modicum of composure on the ball, which eventually paved the way for Antonio Rudiger's set-piece consolation to make it 2-1, but their response came far too late.