After Atletico Madrid's 2:1 victory over Real Madrid in the derby, Marca journalist Juan Ignacio H.-Ochoa wrote an article reviewing the match. He acknowledges that Real Madrid had grounds to dispute some of the referee's decisions, but argues this cannot excuse the team's poor performance.

The article notes that two fouls by Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in could have resulted in red cards, particularly Lee's challenge on Valverde, which was more controversial. However, refereeing issues and Real Madrid's own performance are two separate matters, and refereeing disputes should not overshadow the team's football-related problems.

Real Madrid's first-half performance was poor and deteriorated in the second half. Although the team played with ten men after Haysen's red card, any real momentum only came in added time after Rüdiger's goal. The article argues that throughout the previous 90 minutes, Real Madrid lacked energy, aggression, and effective play, particularly in attack organization. They failed to create genuine scoring opportunities or consistently threaten Atletico Madrid's goal.

The article highlights the Valverde-Tchouameni midfield partnership, noting that while both excel at running, pressing, and covering ground to maintain team balance, if asked to orchestrate attacks, Real Madrid will struggle to maintain smooth offensive flow.

Regarding the La Liga title race, the author contends there is a clear gap in playing style between the current Real Madrid and Barcelona. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's overall performance in the derby was superior to Real Madrid's; their tactical setup is more mature, and they have a clearer vision of how they want to play. However, the article also notes that Atletico Madrid did not deliver a dominant performance in this match—they were simply more consistent and capitalized on their opportunities.

Vinicius Junior's form came under criticism, with the author noting the Brazilian winger once again failed to make an impact in the derby. While Mourinho still considers him a starter, discussions about his place in the lineup are intensifying. Vinicius Junior was largely uninvolved and provided little help to the team. Mourinho substituted him in the 53rd minute following Haysen's dismissal.

Haysen, previously one of Real Madrid's best performers this season, made a crucial error that changed the match. Early in the second half, he failed to deal with a long pass from Hatzko, then fouled Julián Álvarez, resulting in a penalty and red card.

After Real Madrid went down to ten men and were losing, Mourinho's substitution decisions also drew the author's scrutiny. He replaced Vinicius Junior with Diomande, then removed Güler to restore a two-center-back formation. The author believes Güler was one of the few Real Madrid players capable of bringing creativity to the attack at that moment, and his removal left the Valverde-Tchouameni midfield even more bereft of creative control.

Additionally, Marca contends that Lee Kang-in's foul on Valverde should have warranted a direct red card, as Lee was late, went in studs-first, and caught Valverde's ankle, yet VAR did not intervene. The article also criticizes referee Ortiz Arias for poor match control.

Several altercations between players occurred throughout the match. Atletico Madrid's Argentine players clashed with Bellingham; Romero confronted the English midfielder in the first half, and Julián Álvarez later also had words with Bellingham. Bellingham later committed an overly aggressive foul on Julián Álvarez.

From Atletico Madrid's perspective, the article gave high marks to substitute Koke. The author believes that with numerical and goalscoring advantage, Koke helped the team further dominate midfield, demonstrating he can still play a significant role in such crucial matches.

The article noted that Julián Álvarez continued to be booed by some Atletico Madrid home fans, despite coming close to scoring. On one clear opportunity, he beat Courtois, but Konâté cleared the ball off the line to deny Álvarez.

Переведено ИИ.

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