Vinicius Junior ignores the racist chants and continues to dance in the Madrid derby while Real Madrid remains perfect in La Liga.

September 18 2022

Alex KirklandESPN FC

Madrid – If you didn’t know that Sunday’s match between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid was the “Madrilinho derby”, you could still have guessed that something had happened.

– Report: Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid | La Liga table | Upcoming matches

A tense and thin relationship ended with a 2-1 win for Real Madrid, who maintained perfection in La Liga this season amid mockery of Vinicius Junior from Atletico fans.

Rodrygo and Federico Valverde’s goals put Real Madrid ahead early on, and a goal from Atletico’s Mario Hermoso followed by a red card eight minutes later did little to help the hosts.

Here’s ESPN’s Alex Kirkland with reaction and analysis from Madrid.

fast response

1. Rodrygo, Valverde and Vinicius are the future of Real Madrid

It happened quickly, but this season already feels like the start of a new era at Real Madrid, with Rodrygo (21), Vinicius Jr. (22) and Fede Valverde (24) as the new stars of this team.

It’s a process that started during last year’s Champions League race and is now impossible to ignore. One or more Rodrygo, Vinicius and Valverde have scored in each of Madrid’s last seven games – Rodrygo’s opener made him record three consecutive league games – and together they sum up Madrid’s quick and straight side.

Veterans such as Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are still very much present – both were excellent against Atletico – and of course Karim Benzema will be back in the squad when he returns from injury. But this was a night all about the vibrant and irrepressible front three.

After a positive start from Atletico, it was Rodrygo who opened the scoring, launching Orlin Chuamini’s pass floating off Jan Oblak, and when Vinicius’ low shot hit the post and bounced across the goal, Valverde was there to make it 2-0 and effectively finish. competition, despite Atletico’s belated response. Amid all the frenetic Madrid derby noise, these two quality moments made all the difference.

2. Horrific racist chants demand action from Atletico Madrid

The footage of a group of Atletico Madrid fans singing a powerful racist hymn to Vinicius outside the Metropolitano before this match was disgusting and demoralizing, and unfortunately nothing new.

Atlético’s hard-line group of ultras, and Atletico frontHe was guilty of such incidents on numerous occasions before – both on and off the field – and the club failed to take decisive action, despite receiving sanctions from UEFA. Until Atletico do everything necessary to deal with this, including banning stadiums for life if those responsible can be identified, it will continue to happen.

Vinicius’ response to racist criticism of his goal celebrations this week was an eloquent and wordy statement on the issue, and here he was able to strike back on the pitch. When Rodrygo scored, Vinicius was the first to join him in what seemed to be a very deliberate dance on the touchline, and was then the catalyst for Real Madrid’s second goal with a trademark roll on the left.

After the match, Vinicius Jr. posted a A picture of his celebration with Rodrigo Along with the caption, “Dance wherever you want.” Keep dancing, Vinnie.

3. Griezmann’s first start ends in defeat

It’s become a constant joke so far this season: By the 62nd, 63rd or 64th minute, here comes Antoine Griezmann – a substitute that coach Diego Simeone likes, but couldn’t get started – as Atletico Madrid sought to avoid activating the look-based clause that would To force them to pay Barcelona €40m to make his loan deal permanent next summer.

This wasn’t just a game though. This was the Madrid derby, and so was Griezmann she did beginning. It has started well. Playing alongside Joao Felix in attack, Griezmann was Atlético’s most energetic player in the first half, often dropping deep for play.

When it came time to make changes to Simeone in the second half, with Atletico continuing the game, it was Griezmann who was left. Just don’t be surprised to see him on the bench next time.

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Player ratings

Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois 7; Dani Carvajal 7, Eder Militao 7, David Alaba 7, Ferland Mendy 7; Aurelien Chuamini 8, Toni Kroos 8, Luka Modric 7; Fede Valverde 8, Vinicius Jr. 7, Rodrygo go 8.

Subs: Antonio Rudiger 6, Eduardo Camavinga 6, Dani Ceballos 7, Marco Asensio 6

Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak 5; Philip 5, Axel Witsel 6, Reinildo Mandava 6; Marcos Llorente 6, Yannick Carrasco 6; Jeffrey Kondogbia 6, Rodrigo de Paul 6, Coc 6; Joao Felix 6, Antoine Griezmann 7.

Subs: Matthews Cunha 6, Alvaro Morata 6, Mario Hermoso 6, Angel Correa 7, Saul Niguez 6.

Best and worst performer

Best: Fede Valverde, Real Madrid.

Another week, another goal. It keeps getting better and better. He is arguably the most brilliant midfielder in Spain right now.

Worst: Felipe, Atletico Madrid.

He always seems to be the weakest link in Atletico’s defence.

Highlights and Highlights

The Madrid derby was fantastic from the start, and it didn’t take long for the tension to flare up.

Density 📈📈📈 pic.twitter.com/EcFSFD9jcM

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But Rodrygo maintained his composure and found the opening goal with a beautiful one-off shot after a perfectly weighted ball from Aurelien Tchouameni.

He proceeded to celebrate by dancing with Vinicius Jr., who over the past week had to endure disgusting racist attacks over his dance festivities.

RODRYGO Score an absolute beauty and dance with VINICIUS pic.twitter.com/aekxsvMsZd

– ESPN FC (ESPNFC) September 18 2022

Real Madrid kept rolling after that, and Federico Valverde doubled their lead.

Atletico’s Mario Hermoso later cut the difference, but did little else as Hermoso received a second yellow card soon after.

After the match: What the players and managers said

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti talks about his strong reservations after leading with two goals: “Yes, I agree with that. In the first half we played well from the back, we started twice [goalkeeper] thibot [Courtois] He scored two goals. We were comfortable with the acquisition. In the second half we lost the idea of hurting them. In the end we struggled and dominated the game but we struggled in the end. He pushed Atletico and caused us problems.”

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone: “I can’t criticize the players. There are always mistakes, but they gave everything. Madrid have a really good direct style. Their transition from defense to attack is quick and they are extraordinarily clinical. I like it. They are organized. In defense, they counterattack, they take chances. It’s a great job by the coach. They have good ball players and they also work defensively. Valverde and Vinicius, with the talent of Kroos and Modric. But I think we’ve always been in the game.”

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal: “We are very happy. We came here to win. I think we played a really good first half, especially in the first 30 minutes, we took our chance. In the second half we didn’t have much ball to hurt them. We were comfortable at 0-2. It became More complicated in the end but they got three points.”

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper: Jan Oblak: “It leaves a bad taste. We lost the derby, we lost a very important game. I don’t think we were so bad, we didn’t deserve to lose, but this is football, they took chances and we didn’t. It always feels bad when you lose. We are all sad” .

Key Statistics (Provided by ESPN Statistics and Information)

Antoine Griezmann started his first game of the season with Atletico Madrid. Prior to that, Griezmann had been off the bench in each of his first seven games of the season in all competitions.
Rodrygo scored his third goal in La Liga this season. In the 2021-22 La Liga season, Rodrygo scored only four goals.
Atlético Madrid has not returned to defeat Real Madrid in any competition when they have been behind at any time since the 2018 UEFA Super Sup when they trailed 2-1 before winning 4-2 in overtime.
Real Madrid leads La Liga with 18 points as the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to win all league matches this season.
Real Madrid opened the season with nine consecutive victories in all competitions for the first time since 1968-69 when they won a club record 11 consecutive games to open the season, drawing with 1961-1962.

next one

Atletico Madrid: Atletico will have less than seven days to prepare for their trip to Seville, with Julen Lopetegui’s team on Saturday, October 1 at 12:30pm ET.

Real Madrid: Los Blancos He will return to the comforts of the Bernabeu on Sunday, October 2 when they host Osasuna at 3pm ET.