JAKARTA - Real Madrid dramatically beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 in a Spanish LaLiga match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Monday, March 23, 2026 WIB early morning. In the Madrid Derby, Madrid who had to play with 10 players after being sent off by captain Federico Valverde in the 77th minute successfully cut the points gap and again overshadowed the standings leader Barcelona.
Madrid is under pressure after Barca won 1-0 over Rayo Vallecano. The victory made Barca manage to get away from Madrid who played a derby against Atletico.
Atletico is clearly a difficult opponent for the team coached by Alvaro Arbeloa. Moreover, the Madrid squad is incomplete after losing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who suffered a muscle injury during the second match of the 16th round of the Champions League.
Courtois' position was replaced by Andriy Lunin who struggled against the offensive game of the attacking duo of Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. They are still supported by Ademola Lookman to add power.
Meanwhile, Arbeloa did not change the composition of the players by placing Vinicius Junior to duet with Brahim Diaz. Star player Kylian Mbappe again started the match by sitting on the bench.
The match was as expected to be fierce. However, Madrid, who took the initiative to attack, dominated the game. In fact, Los Merengues were almost breaking Atletico's goal when the match was only nine minutes. Captain Federico Valverde's hard shot still hit the goalpost.
Atletico then responded with a counterattack. However, Marcos Llorente's attempt to greet Griezmann's pass was brilliantly thwarted by Lunin.
Although he failed to convert the opportunity, Atletico finally managed to overcome the deadlock when the match entered the 33rd minute. Through an attack built by Matteo Ruggeri who then gave the ball to Giuliano Simeone. The son of Atletico coach, Diego Simeone then released a pass that was finished by Lookman.
The goal from the former Atalanta player gave Los Rojiblancos a 1-0 lead. Madrid actually tried to catch up by playing offensively. But their attacks always hit a dead end so that the score remained until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Madrid did not slow down the game. With ball possession up to 70%, Madrid made more attacks. Their efforts were not in vain. And in the 52nd minute, Madrid got a golden opportunity to equalize after defender David Hancko committed a foul in the penalty box. He knocked down Diaz, which made the referee review the incident via VAR.
As a result, there was a violation and the referee pointed to the white spot. The penalty execution was well executed by Vinicius Jr who changed the score to 1-1. The goal apparently spurred the adrenaline of the Madrid players.
Proven, they didn't take long to turn things around. Only three minutes later, Valverde successfully conquered goalkeeper Juan Musso, which made the score change to 2-1.
The match continued to be intense and tight. Atletico refused to give up and tried to play offensively to get out of the pressure. Although they had a deadlock, they finally managed to equalize when substitute Nahuel Molina greeted Alvarez's assist to break Lunin's goal with a hard shot from outside the penalty area. The goal that was created in the 66th minute made the score 2-2.
Madrid again put pressure. They don't want to lose the opportunity to get three points to keep the competition for the LaLiga title. The patience of the Madrid players also bore fruit. Vinicius Jr successfully scored a brace when finishing a pass from defender Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 72nd minute.
In a position that was 3-2 ahead, Madrid lost a player. Valverde, who also contributed to Madrid's goal, had to leave the arena after making a hard foul against Alejandro Baena in the 77th minute. The referee's decision was protested by the Madrid players so he then reviewed the incident via VAR.
The result was clear when Valverde made a mistake so that the referee stuck to his decision. Madrid also played with 10 people and tried to maintain their advantage.
Even though they had to strengthen the back sector and focus on defense, Madrid managed to secure three points after winning 3-2. The result made Madrid, who ranked second, able to reduce the points gap with Barca. Now, Madrid has 69 points. Four points behind Barca who are perched at the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, Atletico who failed to get points could not improve their ranking. They still remain in the Champions League zone by occupying the fourth position. With 57 points, Atletico is only one point behind Villarreal who is in third place.
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