It was a night of contrasts on the touchline, with Atleti boss Diego Simeone as animated as ever in his 50th Madrid derby, while his opposite number, Alvaro Arbeloa, cut a more relaxed figure as he led Real in this fixture for the first time.
The Spaniard had no reason to shout and scream as his side made a ferocious start, with Dani Carvajal forcing a good save from Juan Musso and Federico Valverde firing against the base of the post in the opening 10 minutes.
Atleti went close themselves when Marcos Llorente found space inside the box and drew a sharp save from Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, making just his fourth start of the season in place of the injured Thibaut Courtois.
Los Blancos looked likeliest to break the deadlock, but the visitors hit them with a sucker punch that silenced the Bernabéu 12 minutes before half-time.
Matteo Ruggeri crossed low from the left, and Giuliano Simeone’s clever flick fell perfectly for Ademola Lookman, who side-footed home his fifth goal since joining the club last month. It was the 24th time Atleti have opened the scoring in LaLiga this term – a league-high – although they were almost pegged back when Aurélien Tchouaméni glanced a header just wide.
Simeone’s side needed to weather the storm in the second half, but within 10 minutes of the restart, the game had been turned upside down.
First, David Hancko tripped Brahim Diaz on the byline, and Vini Jr. stepped up to send Musso the wrong way from the penalty spot. Three minutes later, half-time substitute Jose Maria Gimenez failed to get rid of the ball in his own box, and Valverde stole it off him, before poking home to score his sixth goal in five matches.
Atleti’s heads could have dropped, yet they stunned their rivals again midway through the half, as substitute Nahuel Molina scored for the second successive LaLiga game with a rocket from 25 yards that arrowed into the top corner.
The visitors were level for only five minutes, though, as Vini Jr. responded with a spectacular strike of his own, cutting inside and curling into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Arbeloa immediately brought on Jude Bellingham, who was making his first appearance since February 1st following a spell out with injury, but there was another twist shortly after as Valverde was sent off for hacking down Alex Baena.
The visitors sensed there were points for the taking, and Julián Alvarez curled an effort against the post, shortly before Trent Alexander-Arnold forced a good save from Musso with a wicked free-kick at the other end.
Alexander Sørloth saw a late header saved, but Atleti were unable to force another equaliser as they fell agonisingly short of going seven LaLiga matches unbeaten against their rivals for the first time. They stay fourth in the table, while Real’s victory leaves them just four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
