In the 23rd week of La Liga, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid faced each other. In the match of the week, the Madrid derby ended in a 1-1 draw. This was a crucial match for Real Madrid, because Real Madrid had to close the point gap with Barcelona. But Real Madrid didn't get the result they wanted. Here are the starting 11s of the two teams in the huge match played at the Santiago Bernabau:
Real Madrid in possession
In terms of possession, Real Madrid dominated the match with a percentage difference of 62 to 38. Atletico Madrid let Real Madrid enjoy possession for most of the match and tried to be effective with counter attacks. Real Madrid, on the other hand, usually set up their attacks with Toni Kroos dropping back and getting in between the two centre-backs and moving the ball forward. This is how the home side's attacks were structured. With full-backs Nacho and Carvajal joining the midfield line, Real Madrid lined up in a 3-4-3 formation. Atletico Madrid responded with a 4-4-2 formation. With this formation, Atletico Madrid matched Real Madrid midfielders 1 v 1 and narrowed the midfield. Real Madrid, on the other hand, wanted to send the ball Vinicius Jr, who has been in form of late, with long and diagonal passes. Vinicius Jr was a great danger to the opposition as he was a player who, thanks to his speed, could run behind the defense, cut men off and be incredibly accurate with his shots while doing so. Therefore, throughout the match, Atletico Madrid's right-back Molina defended him carefully and made sure that Vinicius did not get behind during attacks. As a result, Atletico Madrid built most of their attacks from the left side instead of the right. As a result of Molina's defense, Vinicius Jr was less effective than usual in the match.
3-4-3 formation with Toni Kroos between the centre-backs and the full-backs on the flanks of the midfield
Atletico Madrid's 4-4-2 formation against Real Madrid, which narrows the midfield
Eder Militao plays a diagonal long pass towards Vinicius Jr. early in the match
Molina is cautious before attacking and making a run into the gap on the right
In the middle third, Atletico Madrid defended Real Madrid with a 5-3-2 formation. With this formation, Atletico Madrid again aimed to narrow the space in the middle. Carvajal and Vinicius were the players who gave Real Madrid width in attack, so in these situations Real Madrid directed the ball to them.
Atletico's 5-3-2 formation in the middle third
Later in the first half, Atletico Madrid left-back Reinildo Mandava was injured and had to leave the field. Mandava was replaced by Gimenez, who was playing as a centre-back. Therefore, Gimenez came in the center, Carrasco replaced Mandava on the far left of the defense, and Llorente shifted towards the back to join the central line. Atletico Madrid preferred to defend with this formation until they were reduced to 10 players in the 64th minute of the match.
The 5-4-1 formation as a result of the shifts
One of the key moments of the match was Atletico Madrid being reduced to 10 players in the 64th minute. Angel Correa was sent off with a controversial red card after a tussle with Rüdiger and Atletico Madrid were reduced to 10 players. Diego Simeone's men, who had already adopted a defensive approach to the game, "parked the bus" after being left with 10 players on the field. The 5-4-1 system was changed to 5-4 and the depth was greatly reduced. In response, Real Madrid started to attack with more players. Aiming to load the final third with a lot of players, the hosts did not attack with a specific formation. The team's centre-backs, Rüdiger and Militao, came further forward in midfield and passed the ball to Modric or Tchouameni. Then the midfielders looked for ways to break the defense. Real Madrid tried to disorganize the defense and looked for gaps, but the Atletico players defended in a very compact formation and blocked Real Madrid's attacks.
Here Rüdiger and Militao, the team's centre-backs, are in a forward position and Valverde stands back with them, taking precautions against possible counter-attacks. Nacho and Carvajal are spreading out to the flanks and Camavinga and Modric are moving between the lines, looking for space. Tchouameni has the ball and tries to break the defense.
Atletico madrid in possession
Atletico Madrid had less possession throughout the match with 38%, and chose not to play much with the ball. One of the most noticeable moments where this was evident was in the goal kicks. Jan Oblak sent his team forward on goal kicks and instead of passing the ball, he started the game with a clearance. This way they avoided any possible pressure up front. But of course, this method, instead of starting with a pass, reduced their time on the ball. On top of that, duuring Atletico Madrid's attacks, Molina and Carrasco gave width to the game. This was their way of trying to get past the narrow formations that Real Madrid practiced. One of Atletico's ways of creating dangerous opportunities was to attack from Nacho and Rüdiger's side and exploit their defensive weaknesses. The away team tried this in the match, but was unable to yield results.
Atlético Madrid send Llorente behind the defense between Rüdiger and Nacho, but it doesn't result in a goal
Oblak, who was preparing for the goal kick, sends the whole team forward instead of passing the ball and starts the play with a long ball
Atletico Madrid attack with Molina on the far right and Carrasco on the far left, bringing width to the play
Real Madrid responded to Atletico's attacks with 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 formations. With Vinicius Jr up front alongside Benzema, Real Madrid aimed to put pressure on the centre-backs. At the same time, they narrowed the space in the middle and Atlético tried to direct the ball to Molina or Carrasco on the wings.
In a 4-4-2 formation, Real Madrid applies 1 on 1 pressure on the centre-backs and keeps a compact formation with the back 4 close to each other. Leaving the flanks free, they want the ball to be directed to the wings
The hosts, lined up in a 4-5-1 formation in the middle third, likewise direct the ball to the wings and win the ball with an interception during a pass towards the wing
CONCLUSION
Two goals were scored in the clash between the two great Madrid teams, but there was no winner. Looking at the match, neither team could create many attacking opportunities and played a passive game. Both goals came from set-pieces and in the flowing game, neither team could play the game they aimed for. One of the critical moments of the match came when Atletico Madrid was reduced to 10 players with a red card in the 64th minute. Correa, who was sent off for a controversial decision, made it more difficult for Atletico to attack and Atletico Madrid played a more defensive game. However, when they were down to 10 men, they proved to be one of the hardest teams to beat. They defended regularly against Real Madrid and didn't let them through. They took the lead with a goal from a set-piece, but Real Madrid equalized from a set-piece. Especially Vinicius Jr, who has been in form lately, was ineffective in this match and Real Madrid, who could not take advantage of him, had problems in front of goal. With this result, Real Madrid suffered a heavy blow in the title race.
