It wasn’t just a win or a derby victory: It was the biggest moment for Atletico Madrid in their historic rivalry with Real Madrid in a very long time, beating them 4-0 to open up the title race and make it a three-team thing again in probably the most one-sided defeat in the Cristiano Ronaldo era.
Ronaldo wasn’t even a factor in Real’s worst match in recent memory. The fantastic work by Gabi and Tiago in the middle of the pitch did most of the work as Atletico Madrid took 18 shots at goal compared to Real Madrid three through the entire match.
There was also the fantastic performance by Mario Mandzukic, scoring the fourth goal off of a Fernando Torres (coming off the bench) cross and Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman scored the third goal, but creating problems for the Real Madrid defense simply with his pressure and every time he touched the ball provided a huge contribution.
Iker Casillas made the opening mistake as he couldn’t parry the Tiago shot from the edge of the box. Koke leaving the pitch with an injury didn’t make the impact it should have, as Saul, his replacement, scored shortly after coming on and assisted on the third in the second half.
It was Atletico’s fourth win over Real Madrid in six meetings this season, and also their biggest win over Real Madrid since the 1987-1988 season. And to think of their never ending drought until Diego Simeone arrived.
