Real Madrid and Atlético face each other again at the Santiago Bernabeu just one month after the cup derby that left many open wounds at Atlético, a game that the whites won in extra time (3-1) and that two days later , on January 28, provoked a very harsh statement from Miguel Ángel Gil Marín in which he recalled the, in his opinion, arbitration favors that Madrid habitually receives.
The CEO and largest shareholder of Atlético said this: “Anyone who observes it from the outside can see that the same thing has almost always happened for decades. Unfortunately, it no longer surprises anyone, it is not news. It is very obvious and you just have to remember the story. Madrid is a club with a very strong environment, with many interests around it. They create such pressure that it is normal for it to affect the people who must make decisions. They are aware of what awaits them if they harm them with a mistake or even with a hit. The campaign against who they consider is harming them is common.
Obviously, the statement outraged Madrid, which opted as is traditional not to give an institutional response and limited itself to criticizing it ironically by its official commentators on club television.
The relations between Real Madrid and Atlético had already been very touched by the wing since in June last year Madrid broke the tacit non-aggression pact between the quarries that had been in force for some twelve years with the signing of the 15-year-old cadet Jesús Fortea, a Valencian right-back who had been with the mattresses for three seasons since they signed him from Levante.
In Madrid it was especially bitter that more former members of La Fábrica appeared on the rojiblancos squad than many times in their own eleven: Morata, Mario Hermoso, Marcos Llorente, Saúl and Reguilón. Even the new pearl of the quarry and already in the first mattress team, Pablo Barrios, entered Atlético after being rejected in Valdebebas.
Madrid comes into the game as a clear favorite driven by their victory at Anfield, where they suffered at the beginning and ended up thrashing Liverpool. The whites have been launched since they won the Club World Cup. For today Ancelotti cannot count on Alaba or Rodrygo, but he seems to have enough resources in the squad. Of course: he has no margin for error. The eight points that Barcelona takes make each game a final.
For Atlético, fourth in the League, the fight is to stay in the Champions League places. They lead Betis by four points, but are only two behind the third, Real Sociedad. But beyond the classification, and as always in these derbies, for Atlético, beating their neighbor is simply a matter of honor and pride. For Atlético it is much more important to beat Madrid than for Madrid to beat Atlético.
If Madrid reaches the derby like a shot, Atlético have only conceded one goal in their last five games. It also works better in the transition in the middle, with Koke as a crucial figure, as Simeone recalled yesterday at a press conference.
The last recent blur for Atlético is the draw at home against Getafe, with a penalty goal conceded very late. Simeone joins Luis Aragonés today as the coach with the most matches in the history of Atlético de Madrid, with 612. The Argentine will not be able to count on Rodrigo de Paul, Reguilón or Kondogbia, all three injured, but he can count on the Frenchman Thomas Lemar, already with the discharge
Atlético's defeat in the Cup is the only one they have suffered in their last eight official matches. The mattresses have not won at the Bernabeu also eight games. His last victory in the rival coliseum was on February 27, 2016, with a goal from Griezmann, the only one of the match. There will hardly be visiting fans in the stands. Anything short of a very hot match will be weird.
