On Thursday, Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1 in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. One of the strongest rivalries in club soccer has historically been the Madrid derby.
Before the game started, Vini Jr., the derby Madrileno had a foul taste in his mouth. The supporters of Atletico Madrid created a flag and an offensive inflatable doll of Vinicius that they hung from a bridge in Madrid. These pictures just fueled the flames and increased the scrutiny placed on Vinicius before the game.
Real Madrid struggled in the first half and received an early goal from Atletico. Real was 11 minutes away from being eliminated when Rodrygo scored a spectacular goal after eluding three defenders.
The boys in white pulled off another incredible comeback thanks to outstanding performances from Militao, Camavinga, Ceballos, and Rodrygo to advance to the semifinals.
After Stefan Savic of Atletico was dismissed for two cautionable offenses, Real went ahead in the 104th minute thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr.
After the visitors failed to deal with Marco Asensio’s low cross, Benzema drove a low effort past Jan Oblak, and Vinicius Jr. secured the victory by passing the ball into the bottom corner after a superb run.
Stats of Madrid Derby:
Red card to Stefan Savic.
The game was still deadlocked and tied at 1-1. In the 99th minute, the Atletico defender received two yellow cards in the first two minutes of extra time. The first occurred amid a dispute with Vinicius, while the second occurred because Eduardo Camavinga was fouled.
Stefan Savic, a center-back, received a red card for a pointless challenge while already on a yellow. Atletico lost a man for the last 20 minutes after receiving two yellow cards in the space of two minutes.
The 19-time Copa del Rey champions will now play against Osasuna, Athletic Club, or nemesis Barcelona in the semifinals. The draw for it will be decided on 30th January 2023.
Madrid Derby line-up:
Real Madrid
Formation 4-3-3
Atl Madrid
Formation 4-2-3-1
Players for Copa Del Rey Madrid Derby 2023:
| Real Madrid | Atl Madrid |
| Courtois (GK) | Oblak (GK) |
| Nacho (DF) | Molina (DF) |
| Militão (DF) | Savic (DF) |
| Rüdiger (DF) | Hermoso (DF) |
| Mendy (DF) | Mandava (DF) |
| Modric (MF) | Koke (MF) |
| Camavinga (MF) | De Paul (MF) |
| Kroos (MF) | Correa (MF) |
| Valverde (MF) | Lemar (MF) |
| Benzema (FW) | Griezmann (FW) |
| Vinícius Júnior (FW) | Morata (FW) |
| Substitutes: Vallejo, Asensio, Lunin, Odriozola, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Martín, Arribas | Substitutes: Grbic, Giménez, Reguilón, Kondogbia, Depay, Saúl, Felipe, Witsel, Carrasco, Barrios, Martín Domínguez |
| Bookings: Mendy (69′), Vinícius Júnior (97′) | Bookings: Savic (99′), Hermoso (62′), Mandava (54′), Koke (105′), De Paul (44′) |
