There is a saying in Spain: The second episodes were not good at all. They say sequels don’t always live up to the original, but this time it did. The second part of the Madrid Trilogy, consisting of three derbies and three different competitions in three weeks, was even better than the first, no matter how implausible it may seem, like The Godfather Part II. These great rivals had scored 8 goals when they met 6 days ago, and at the end of 120 minutes of entertainment, Real won 5-3; Now, on a rainy night, in their own city, where they should have been, there were 120 more minutes, even more brutal than these, six goals and revenge. This time, Atletico Madrid responded.
They took the lead 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to Samu Lino and Antoine Griezmann. Twice Atletico went ahead and twice they saw Real Madrid, the rival that refused to die, come back at them, all the fears and trauma returning. Jan Oblak’s own goal and Joselu’s header meant the derby once again went into extra time: all finals or knockout matches these teams have played under Diego Simeone now stands at eight. There, Griezmann’s superb goal in the hundredth minute went over Vinícius, who slotted the ball over Andriy Lunin, who took off his jersey, to make it 3-2.
Relating to: Real Madrid advanced to the final of the Spanish Super Cup by beating Atletico 5-3 in Saudi Arabia.
Still no one knew how this would turn out. Atletico resisted again, Madrid came again. They even sent the ball into the net once again through Dani Ceballos, but Jude Bellingham was ruled offside. And when most of the audience couldn’t take it anymore, with seconds remaining and tension gripping everyone, Rodrigo Riquelme ran away to win right at midnight.
The explosion rocked the place and in the final scene, Diego Simeone, dressed in black and running down the touchline in the drenching rain, was celebrating much more than passage to the next round of the Copa del Rey. There was an air of exorcism about it; It became a classic. A fitting match for a proper rivalry.
It may not have been as entertaining and open a match as the Super Cup, but it was more exciting, more real, more meaningful. And the end result is much better. A little more blood and a lot more noise. Madrid striker Joselu said it was “cold” in Saudi Arabia; In front of 70,000 fans, this wasn’t it. It was much more important; A night full of tension and drama. And tons of talent.
At least from Bellingham, who was excellent from start to finish and almost opened the scoring with a brilliant moment in the 10th minute. He somehow stopped Koke, got inside Axel Witsel, evaded Rodrygo De Paul and took aim near the six-yard box. José Maria Giménez, coming in, touched the ball enough to spin it up and out of the post.
Five minutes later Oblak made a remarkable double save; Atlético were caught out with a deep free-kick, which Vinícius Koke easily turned and slotted through. The movement slowed but Madrid caught the ball, sent it towards the Brazilian, who put a beautiful ball behind the defense to Rodrygo. Near the penalty spot Rodrygo took control, turned and shot. Oblak reached him with a right hand and suddenly rose to his feet to cover Vinicius and lunged for the rebound.
Atlético wanted the ball, were keen to play from deep, and they took the game to Madrid, or tried to take it. An Alvaro Morata overhead kick and a De Paul header were easily saved by Lunin. Madrid didn’t seem to mind, happy to be running: there was a clarity and determination in them as they progressed, and they did so more and more often as the half progressed. Rodrygo in particular posed a problem for the home team.
Only then did Atletico score. Rodrigo de Paul passed the ball towards Morata but Antonio Rüdiger caught the ball first. The ball went over his head and Lino slid past Lunin as he slid towards the far post. The game has become boring. Bellingham knocked Lino down and picked him up again, satisfied there was no problem, and the fighting was escalating. Fouls were the same, one of them was the foul that brought the equalizer, there was a moment of comedy during the halftime. Oblak took a long free kick from Modric into the six-yard box, caught the ball and sent it into his own goal.
The second half started with Rodrygo firing into the side netting and Bellingham’s superb footwork: he soared past three men in the area and almost trapped Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga. But it was Atletico who took the lead with a goal almost as stupid as the one scored by Madrid. Marcos Llorente apparently tried to divert the ball into Griezmann’s path, but the ball hit Camavinga and swung and spun across the entire area, turning into a perfect “assist”. Lunin misjudged almost the same space occupied by Oblak, prompting Alvaro Morata to slot the ball into the open net.
While Madrid responds. Brahim did an excellent job of cutting back down the right for Rodrygo inside the area. His shot deflected and rebounded past the post. Atletico were more tense than ever: all the pain of the past clung to them, all the times Madrid had hurt them, broken their hearts and ripped away their hope. Atletico could have finished it, which made the situation worse and Madrid’s comeback more predictable. Lino’s clever angled pass almost gave Griezmann a third, Llorente escaped but couldn’t quite clear Lunin in front of his teammates waiting behind him and Morata had a clear chance to finish the ball but the keeper saved, a hero in waiting.
Then the inevitable happened. Bellingham delivered a perfectly weighted ball to the far post; Joselu equalized with his first touch with a header. This would of course go into extra time, another 30 minutes into this epic.
This time was Griezmann’s time, Atlético’s moment, a classic completed by Part II. End.