Vinicius Junior scored twice as Real Madrid fought back to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 in a breathtaking Spanish capital derby on Sunday, keeping Alvaro Arbeloa’s side within four points of La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Billed as a relatively low-key Madrid derby, with Atletico a distant fourth in the table, the match instead produced a five-goal spectacle between the rivals.
It had everything: stunning goals from both sides and a straight red card for Real captain Federico Valverde, reducing the hosts to ten men in the closing minutes.
Atletico’s Ademola Lookman opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, completing a slick counter-attack with Matteo Ruggeri and a delightful backheel from Giuliano Simeone.
Vinicius equalized from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute after David Hancko clumsily tripped Brahim Diaz, and Valverde took advantage of a Jose Maria Gimenez error three minutes later to make it 2-1 to Real.
Nahuel Molina silenced Real’s Bernabeu stadium with a thunderous strike from 30 yards in the 66th minute, but Vinicius restored Real’s lead with a superb solo effort six minutes later.
Valverde then saw red for an inexplicable challenge on Alex Baena, and Julian Alvarez hit the post as Atletico pressed, but Real held on.
‘IN CONTROL FROM THE BEGINNING’
“Real Madrid always come out on top,” said Vinicius Real Madrid television.
«I’m very happy with the performance we put in today. We were in control from the start; we conceded a goal, but we stayed calm and did what we had to do so that our fans could go home happy with another victory.»
Atletico’s disappointing league campaign is in stark contrast to its form in the Copa del Rey, where it faces Real Sociedad in the final next month after eliminating Barcelona in the semi-finals. In two weeks, after the international break, they will also face Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
It gave Real quite a fight, which lasted until the final whistle of a hugely entertaining match.
Real almost took the lead inside three minutes when Vinicius made a fantastic solo run from the left and was denied by a brilliant save from Juan Musso, while Valverde hit the post a few minutes later after another fantastic run.
Giuliano Simeone made an unselfish goal-line clearance to deny Vinicius from a point inside the six-yard box in the 20th minute, twice blocking the Brazilian’s effort.
REAL PAYS FOR WASTE
Real paid dearly for its waste when Atletico opened the scoring through Lookman’s counter in the 33rd minute.
Yet they found an equalizer seven minutes after the restart when Hancko lost his balance trying to dispossess Brahim in the area, causing the Moroccan to stumble awkwardly and gift the hosts a penalty. Vinicius fired it to the left as Musso dived the wrong way.
Three minutes later, Valverde put Real ahead after a schoolboy error from centre-back Gimenez, who was introduced at half-time to strengthen the defence. The Uruguayan failed to deal with a routine pass, allowing Valverde to pounce on the loose ball, wrestle past the flailing defender and fire past Musso.
Just when Real seemed to be in full control, Atletico conjured up an equalizer out of nowhere in the 66th minute. Right-back Molina tried his luck from 30 yards and sent a thunderous strike into the top left corner.
Vinicius took matters into his own hands six minutes later, cutting in diagonally from the left, dribbling past two opponents and firing an unstoppable shot just inside the far post.
Then came a stunning twist when Valverde was sent off, but Real held on to claim all three points.
Published on March 23, 2026
