After eight years in La Liga, it was the first time when Real Madrid could win the match against Atletico Madrid at Santiago. Karim Benzema scored the only goal and gave a lead to Los Blancos.
1st half of the match
Zinedine Zidane decided to play with five midfielders. Karim Benzema was the single player in the attacking line. Zidane played with Modric, Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde, and Isco. At the same time, Marcelo was on the bench from the start. The French coach has not given the Brazilian defender a chance to play. French Mendy played from the start and had a perfect performance.
Atletico Madrid could not get help from Joao Felix. Portuguese player got the injury in the last round of La Liga. Simeone started the match with two forwards – Alvaro Morata and Vitolo.
Teams could not do anything impactful in the first half. The only thing we can review is indeed the yellow card of Diego Simeone. He was talking too much, and the referee thought that the yellow card would be perfect for him to calm down.
2nd half of the match
In the second half, Zinedine Zidane decided to make serious changes. Toni Kroos and Isco have not played in the second half as Vinicius and Vazquez started the second half. French coach decided to make an impact on the attacking line and gave a chance to the fastest youngsters of the team.
Real Madrid soon scored a goal. Vinicius gave a sharp pass to Mendy, and French defender assisted Karim Benzema. After the assistance of Mendy, Benzema scored an easy tap-in goal.
Zinedine Zidane changed the course of the match. Along with Lucas Vazquez and Junior Vinicius, Real Madrid had Fede Valverde to run without hesitation. Young attacking players helped Real Madrid to control the ball and attack when needed. At the same time, Whites were running on each lost ball. Overall, Real Madrid won the match after eight years in La Liga. Since 2012, Real Madrid could not win the home match in La Liga against Atletico. Zidane believes that it’s not a time for relaxation and enjoyment. The season is very long, and Real Madrid players have to work harder.