Real Madrid News: With an easy win over Atletico Madrid in a heated derby on Sunday night, Los Blancos continued their flawless start to the La Liga season.
Karim Benzema is still out due to injury from Carlo Ancelotti’s team. However, they kept up their stellar play, winning all nine games this season in all competitions. La Real handled the hostile environment of the Atleti stadium in an excellent way. They scored both goals in the first half courtesy of Rodrygo and Federico Valverde.
To start the scoring, Rodrygo casually half-volleyed a perfectly weighted shot from Aurelien Tchouameni over the top of the Atletico Madrid defence. After Vinicius Junior rammed a through ball from Luka Modric and toed the post, Valverde grabbed the rebound.
Diego Simeone started for Antoine Griezmann for the first time this year. However, it took Thibaut Courtois’ mistake to give them a chance to get back in the game. Mario Hermoso scored from an error. He was sent off a few minutes later after two yellow cards in a row. Here are some talking points from the game in Madrid.
Real Madrid News: Vinicius responds to the racists
The game got off to a horrible start. A video of Atlético de Madrid fans singing racist chants against Vinicius appeared on social networks. After agent Pedro Bravo told the Brazil player to “stop playing monkey” live on Spanish television, the Real Madrid star spent the days leading up to the match responding.
Vinicius swore to continue dancing with joy after the goals scored; on Sunday night, he did exactly that. His teammate Rodrygo scored the first goal of the game, but the pair quickly took a stand against racism by dancing by the corner flag.
Real Madrid’s young strikers and their teammates showed incredible defiance at the time, responding to the hate in the best way imaginable.
The Atleti crowd disgraces itself
On Sunday night, the Atleti fans added another more depraved act to their repertoire in addition to shouting disgusting racial chants about Vinicius. During the jubilation that followed Real Madrid’s two goals in the first half, objects rained down from the stands.
A cease and desist request was made during the halftime announcement over the stadium’s loudspeaker system, Estadio Metropolitano. Instead, Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was seen passing an object to the referee midway through the second period to draw attention to the persistent problem.
Valverde’s hot streak
On September 6, when the Real Champions League kicked off against Celta and Benzema was injured, there was a clear fear among the team’s fans: who would score the goals? Some of the answers were Rodrygo, Vinicius and even Eden Hazard. Few people would have anticipated Valverde’s recent hot run.
The Uruguayan midfielder has mainly been a background figure for Real in recent years. Although Carlo Ancelotti has come to trust him, he has never performed to the same level as some of the other talents in the team.
That is starting to change. Valverde has now scored four goals this season, compared to just one last year, including three in his previous three outings. The 24-year-old has elevated himself in the pecking order of the star-studded club by adding a clinical edge to his athleticism and technical proficiency.
