Alvarez’s double ignites Atletico’s comeback, shocking Real Madrid 5-2
The La Liga leaders suffered their first defeat of the season after a flawless start when Atletico Madrid overcame a deficit to defeat city rivals Real Madrid 5-2 on Saturday in a thrilling derby that saw two goals from Julian Alvarez.
Atletico fought back from a 2-1 deficit to win a spectacular victory that moved them up to fourth position with 12 points in the exciting match at a boisterous Metropolitano stadium, with nearly 70,000 spectators on the edge of their seats. With 18 points, Real Madrid leads Barcelona, who still have a game to play, by two points.
Robin Le Normand’s header in the 14th minute gave Atletico the lead, but Kylian Mbappe equalized with an unstoppable close-range strike in the 25th minute during a swift counterattack, and 11 minutes later Arda Guller put the visitors ahead with a volley from a Vinicius Jr. cross. Atletico’s aggressive start paid off.
Atletico was given a boost by Alexander Sorloth’s header in extra time prior to halftime, and they took the lead again five minutes into the second half when Alvarez scored a penalty after Guler’s high kick had hit opponent Nico Gonzalez on the face inside the box.
The Metropolitano was on fire as the crowd erupted in excitement as replacement Antoine Griezmann scored the winning goal in additional time after Alvarez had extended their advantage in the 64th minute with a magnificent free kick into the top corner.
Atletico scored five goals against Real Madrid for the first time in 75 years, and it was their first victory over their city rivals since January 2024.
Despite having great expectations after the club’s massive summer investment, Diego Simeone’s team had struggled early on, winning only one of their first six games across all competitions. The surprise victory gave them a major lift.
Atletico recovered with an exciting 3-2 comeback victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga midweek after losing to Liverpool at Anfield in their Champions League opening last week.
The historic win on Saturday should cheer up the Atletico supporters, who had begun to doubt their longtime manager Simeone, who is currently in his 14th season with the team and hasn’t won a trophy in four years.
“It’s a very special day,” Alvarez described to DAZN.
Because it was a derby and would deprive one of the top-seeded clubs of points, we were aware of how crucial this game was. Even though they scored their goals swiftly and we had the upper hand, the team never gave up.
“Now we need to continue along this path, improving the things we need to improve.”
Atletico’s first two goals came from crosses, meaning that Real Madrid, who had only given up three goals in six victories in their first six league games, were humiliated by far superior opponents who controlled the game and took advantage of a clear vulnerability against the high balls.
“It was a bad loss and we must learn from it,” Xabi Alonso, the manager of Real Madrid, commented at a press conference. “We were inadequate and committed too many errors, but it’s one of those setbacks that will help us in the future. There is a lot of work ahead of us, and the season is still early.
