[7th-Feb-15] Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid

Who saw this coming? While I personally wouldn’t have written off Atletico Madrid to win the derby, their absolute dismantling of Real Madrid on Saturday is something I did no see coming, although I’m sure a lot of us could say the same thing.

Tiago and Saul Niguez capitalized from Atletico’s early dominance, giving the hosts a massive 2 goal lead only 18 minutes into the contest. After half time, Griezmann was able to score from close range while Mandzukic headed in a fourth a minute before the end of normal time to give the home fans a memorable evening. The play of the day was easily Niguez’s goal, a beautiful bicycle kick that netted Atletico’s second on the night.

The loss allowed Bareclona, who won their weekend game, back within a point of Real at the top of the table. What’s more surprising is the amount Atletico dominated, racking up 17 shots, 8 of which were on target, while only allowing 4 in total. In fact, the aggressive play from Atletico helped stagnate the Real offense, and Ronaldo and Bale were not very effective or influential in the preceding.