Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid
A goalless draw played out at the Wanda Metropolitano tonight was enough to keep Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid top of the table.
The top spot in the league was the prize in this La Liga Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid clash. While chances were at a premium, Los Blancos had the better of them and deserved to hold on to that coveted place, for another week at least.
The Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid betting odds may have looked a little different had Los Blancos not come into the game on the back of a three-match winning run in the league.
But this performance on Los Rojiblancos’ home territory will have pleased ZZ, keeping their La Liga momentum moving, as well as letting Barcelona know they will be in the hunt.
Highlights of the game
In the run-up to the game, Real forward Eden Hazard said he was looking forward to coming up against his old Chelsea mate, Diego Costa. It was the Atleti striker who came closest to scoring in a tight first half when he was inches away from turning in a Thomas Partey cross.
At the other end, midfield maestro Toni Kroos tested Atleti keeper Jan Oblak twice with low shots, but it was a first half of very few chances.
Los Rojiblancos worked hard and Joao Felix was industrious in his first La Liga Madrid derby, but they found it hard to carve out any real chances. Felix did have a chance just before the break but fired wide.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has put in some decent performances so far this season after a summer of transfer speculation. But when he met a Nacho cross, he lifted the ball over the bar when he should have done better.
Karim Benzema has been Real’s most potent threat this season, with five league goals, and he came close to giving Los Blancos a priceless win. But Oblak made a superb save from the Frenchman’s header to help seal the stalemate.
Key Statistics
At pre-match SBOBET odds of 3.25, we didn’t expect a stalemate but there were very few chances as both sides cancelled each other out.
Los Rojiblancos thrashed Real 7-3 in a pre-season match in New Jersey but this was a tighter game edged by Los Blancos with 56 per cent possession, 14 shots to seven and three to one on target. But apart from Oblak’s late save from Benzema, there was very little for either set of fans to get excited about.
The head to head Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid results stay in Los Blancos favour by a big margin, with 35 wins to Atleti’s 12, and there have been 19 draws since 1993.
But Los Rojiblancos are unbeaten in 13 at the Wanda Metropolitano and are well-equipped to stay in the race to win La Liga this season. Meanwhile, the point is enough to keep Real at the top, ahead of Granada and Atleti by a single point.
What’s next?
Barca’s win against Getafe has brought the Blaugrana within touching distance of the top and a draw in this Madrid derby was the perfect result for the Catalans.
But La Liga takes a back seat now as the Champions League is back on Tuesday, and Los Rojiblancos head to Moscow to face Locomotiv. The last time they trekked to Russia for this fixture in 2018, Simeone’s men ran out 5-1 winners.
The Russiam Premier League side has midfielder Joao Mario on loan from Inter Milan and he will be a man to watch, but Atleti should have enough to come away with a win. Los Rojiblancos fought hard to come back from two goals down to save a point against Juventus and a win in Russia will represent a good start to their European campaign.
Then it’s Real Valladolid away in La Liga. Sergio’s side has made a decent start to the season, sitting just below mid-table.
Los Blancos have two home games to look forward to, first against Club Brugges in Group A of the Champions League. The Belgian side played out a goalless draw in its opener against Galatasaray.
Granada then visit the Bernabeu next weekend. The new boys have made an impressive start to life in the Primera Division, already beating Barcelona 2-0, and a win over bottom club Leganes today has lifted them into second place.
It’s a top of the table clash!
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