Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid: Match report & 3 talking points as hosts win on night of stunning goals | OneFootball

Real Madrid have a 2-1 lead to protect in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.

The holders edged what was a battle of outstanding goals on Tuesday night, with Brahim Diaz, who was in the team again in Jude Bellingham's absence, proving the match-winner in a tight affair which swung both ways.

While defeated, Diego Simeone will be content with a just a single goal deficit as they host the return leg in eight days time.

How the game unfolded

There was a pre-match expectation of a tight affair with these two sides knowing each other all too well. However, the hosts threatened to shift that narrative on the sort of occasion which typically manifests their most potent form.

Within four minutes, Real Madrid were in front. A lovely Federico Valverde pass in behind Javi Galan set Rodrygo away, and the Brazilian - playing off the right - beat the left-back for pace, cut inside Clement Lenglet and drilled an emphatic left-footed effort beyond Jan Oblak.

The already fervent Bernabeu upped its ferocity, and Rodrygo was seemingly intent on making a mockery of Galan. The winger got in behind the experienced defender again minutes after his brilliant opener, but the Atleti man just about did enough to unbalance Madrid's goalscorer without giving away a penalty.

The visitors were nowhere in the opening 20 minutes as Simeone tried to instill calm. Atleti were frantic in possession and succumbing to Madrid's counter-press time and time again. However, they did eventually settle and started to find their groove. Possession sequences grew in length, and their own tenacity without the ball allowed for a sense of suffocation to envelop Los Blancos.

Their increased threat came to the fore in some style via Julian Alvarez, who escaped Eduardo Camavinga's clutches down the left before unleashing a pinpoint curling effort beyond Thibaut Courtois to equalise.

Atleti then proceeded to control the remainder of the first half as the once assertive hosts struggled to combine in transition and combat the issues Samuel Lino's positioning between the lines caused.

There was no shift in the dynamic after the restart, but Madrid once again found themselves in front against the run of play. Whistles had greeted Carlo Ancelotti's side in the opening minutes of the second half, but their mood shifted after Brahim shimmied in the Atleti box to work a bit of space before curling an effort past Oblak to make it 2-1.

Antoine Griezmann forced Courtois into a smart save soon after Brahim's go-ahead goal, but Madrid, after Luka Modric entered the fray, then started to enjoy their best period of the game since the opening exchanges. However, both teams were limited in the final third right up until the end of the contest. Madrid had an excellent chance to score a third in stoppage time, but the subdued pairing of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior couldn't combine to supply the hosts with a greater cushion.

Check out the player ratings from Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid here.

World class finishing

Expect a couple of tonight's goals to make a few compliations / Denis Doyle/GettyImages

Madrid have long been defined by moments and momentum in the Champions League. On Tuesday night, two outstanding sequences of play helped them to victory.

Jan Oblak wasn't a busy boy at all, but he twice picked the ball out of his net having despairingly dove in a bid to prevent two excellent goals. Rodrygo's opener was undoubtedly a shock to the system after a tepid opening three minutes, with the Brazilian bursting in behind and finishing off his 'weaker' left foot so ruthlessly.

There was more finesse involved Brahim's winning effort, and the subtlety - not to mention Madrid's ability to work the space down the left flank - of his work in the Atleti box to befuddle Jose Gimenez which created the opening was tremendous.

However, the pick of the goals was Alvarez's equaliser. The Argentine was a dogged runner all night, aiming to exploit the space Madrid surrendered in the channels. He was well-tracked by Camavinga on this occasion, but the striker held off his trademark lunging challenge before stunning the Bernabeu with a goal that will doubtlessly make plenty of highlight reels.

Luka Modric: The reliever

Modric helped Modric assert control after taking a 2-1 lead / Aitor Alcalde/GettyImages

This was a night which saw Madrid struggle for control. Their start to the game was superb, and the savvy Atletico were seemingly folding amid the heat of the Bernabeu on a big Champions League night.

However, after Rodrigo De Paul broke the hosts' counter-press for the first time and slid Alvarez in behind, a sense of calm suddenly pervaded over the visitors. Madrid's early intensity wilted, and Simeone's side asserted impressive control from the 20-minute mark up until half-time. In fact, there was no change after half-time, and the home crowd started to get restless.

Atleti were enjoying themselves at the home of their capital rivals, and there was a sense that they would get back into the game after Brahim restored Madrid's advantage. However, Carlo Ancelotti deployed his trump card in the aftermath which tilted the contest firmly into the hosts' favour.

Luka Modric can still hang with the kids at 39, and his 28-minute cameo served as another reminder of his timeless brilliance. 50 passes attempted, 50 passes completed. He calmed everyone down, tamed Atleti's ruggedness without the ball, and eased the tension inside the Bernabeu. 90 minutes on nights like these may be beyond him, but his influence very rarely isn't felt.

Atleti still in with a shout

Atleti are well in the tie / Anadolu/GettyImages

It appeared that Simeone was throwing in the towel and happy to leave with a 2-1 defeat after he swapped talisman Antoine Griezmann for defender Robin Le Normand with just less than 20 minutes remaining. However, his typical closers soon entered the fray as Atleti attempted a trademark late rally.

They were unable to fashion the requisite moment this time around, but a single-goal deficit means this tie remains in the balance.

Madrid will have Bellingham back next week, and his running power will make a difference, but so will a raucous Metropolitano crowd with their fiercest rivals coming to town. Atleti had lost just one of the previous seven derbies before Tuesday's first leg and Madrid have won just twice at their capital rivals' new ground since it opened in 2017.

Simeone's side overcame a 1-0 deficit from the first leg to bypass an excellent Inter team in the round of 16 last season, and while Madrid are ever so hard to shake off in this competition, Atleti are also capable of producing some voodoo magic under the lights.