The former Bayern Munich center-back appeared disoriented as Real Madrid’s perfect start to the season came to an end.
Real Madrid delivered a lackluster defensive performance and lacked offensive sharpness in a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid on Sunday. The team was vulnerable to counter-attacks, with their typically reliable defender David Alaba responsible for conceding three nearly identical headers to their cross-town rivals, resulting in Real Madrid dropping their first points of the La Liga season.
Alvaro Morata opened the scoring in just four minutes, directing Samuel Lino’s diagonal pass into the net beyond a motionless Kepa Arrizabalaga. The home team quickly doubled their lead when Saul connected with Antoine Griezmann, who directed a header into the bottom corner. Griezmann, the French star, had a chance to make it three, but his attempt was expertly thwarted by Kepa.
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Real Madrid mounted a comeback, with Toni Kroos swiveling from his left to right foot before unleashing a powerful shot from outside the box that found the back of the net past Jan Oblak. However, Madrid’s defensive frailties resurfaced as Atletico Madrid only required two minutes into the second half to extend their lead, with Morata securing his brace with another unchallenged header.
Carlo Ancelotti changed things shortly after, introducing fresh legs, and reverting to his preferred 4-4-2 formation to get back into the game. And the visitors created more as a result, as Aurelien Tchouameni and Rodrygo fired narrowly wide, while Joselu created problems in the box.
Still, the crucial goal never came, and Atleti looked admittedly comfortable seeing off their bitter rivals.