Match Date: 28 September 2013

The Madrid derby has been Real’s, in the league, for over a decade, but coming into this match, Atletico are the better side in terms of league position and scoring. Diego Simeone has continued to build upon his Atletico side, having won three trophies since taking over about a year and a half ago. On the other side of Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid have had a mixed start to the season, drawing Villarreal and being a bit fortunate to beat Elche during their midweek fixture.

Simeone, with David Villa and Diego Costa available, lined his team up in a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1, with Real Madrid in something of a 4-2-3-1/4-2-2-2.

Atletico Press and Maintain Defensive Shape

Such a big difference in this match was Atletico Madrid’s willingness and ability to press Real Madrid when they had the ball, something that Diego Simeone has urged his team to do during his time in charge. Against, Real, Atletico were willing to conceded possession in order to control the space, another characteristic of Simeone, but once Real got to certain areas of the pitch, Atletico would put high pressure on the ball carrier, manly on transitions high up the pitch or when Real tried to attack in the wide areas. Below you can those tackles high up the pitch when Real tried to play out of the back, like they did before Atletico tackled Di Maria and led directly to the game’s only goal, as well as the higher concentration of fouls committed by Atletico in those two aforementioned areas of the pitch.

In terms of shape, Atletico looked to get into a 4-1-4-1 when they were in their defensive half and they kept the shape fairly well, rarely becoming flat in midfield and always making sure at least one of either Diego Costa or David Villa was deeper than the other.

They were willing to let Real have the ball in and around the centre circle and about 10 to 15 yards within their half, but as the ball moved out wide, Atletico would quickly shift numbers over the the ball side to put immediate pressure on the ball, as you can see below with Isco surrounded by three Atletico players. It made sense to do so as Real were usually playing with no one through the middle of their attacking third of the field. Isco and Di Maria usually stayed in the wide areas, with Ronaldo and Benzema acting as two forwards. Real tried to play from the backs and holding midfielders to Isco and Di Maria to then link up with Ronaldo and Benzema, so it was important for Atletico to close the two playmakers down so that they could not get balls into the forwards.

What Real Did Wrong

Real Madrid are without their two best playmakers from last year, Mesut Özil, whom they have sold, and Xabi Alonso, who is injured. Both have replacements in Isco and Illarramendi, who were both bought this summer, but the team doesn’t seem to have the same quality without the latter two on the field. WIthout Alonso, the team seems to lack the rhythm and tempo that they are used to having from the holding midfielder and his expansive play can’t be replicated by either Khedira or Illarramendi. Isco is a class player in his own right, but whereas last year Özil’s role was usually clearly defined, Isco seemed to struggle in the match to find his role.

Occasionally, Real looked like they were in a 4-2-2-2 similar to what Ancelotti used last year at PSG. Isco would drift on the left, Di Maria would be on wide on the right, and Ronaldo and Benzema would be both be up top. At other times, they looked like a 4-2-3-1, which usually saw Ronaldo on the left and Isco behind Benzema and they looked effective when doing so as Isco was able to see the field better and Ronaldo was able to get onto the ball more often, but neither really received the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch.

Conclusion

With credit due to Atletico’s pressing, Real looked a touch too slow for most of the first half and the introduction of Gareth Bale seemed to add a little bit of a spark to Real’s flat attack. His influence on the match wasn’t enough for Real, though, and Atletico won their first Madrid league derby in 14 years and kept their 100% record in La Liga.