Real Madrid's Latent Defensive Weakness Revealed

MADRID, SATURDAY — Facing the Madrid Derby after conceding only three goals in six matches turned out to be mere camouflage for Real Madrid in concealing their defensive weaknesses. Despite appearing strong, Real's defense was actually vulnerable to the simplest attacking tactics, namely crosses. Atletico Madrid exposed that latent weakness to silence Real, 5-2.

This defeat simultaneously halted Real's positive trend at the beginning of the season, where they had consistently secured victories in six consecutive matches. The team, coached by Xabi Alonso, failed to pass their first heavy test of the season at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Saturday (28/9/2025) evening WIB.

In a derby, especially the Madrid Derby, a defeat clearly has no place in a team as large as Real. What is even worse is that the defeat was suffered in a very decisive manner at a time when Real had never conceded more than one goal in each match this season. Alonso's debut in the Madrid Derby was also tarnished by this result.

"We are not satisfied with the way we played. La Liga has just started, what matters is what we will do next, how we will react," said Alonso in a press conference following the match.

Playing in front of tens of thousands of their supporters, the Atletico players performed very effectively. They were able to take the lead just 14 minutes into the match with a header from center-back Robin Le Normand. It had never been imagined before that Real would concede a goal from a cross scheme, considering their solid defense in the first six matches of this season.

Le Normand's goal was quite simple, not originating from a combination pass involving two or three players to break through Real's solid defense. The goal started from a speculative cross by Giuliano Simeone on the right wing. Although flanked by the tall Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao, Le Normand jumped and successfully won the aerial duel to conquer goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

The Madrid derby then unfolded with mutual attacks. As a result, Atletico's lead lasted only 11 minutes. Kylian Mbappe successfully scored an equalizer through a short pass combination with Arda Guler. Mbappe's goal provided Real with the momentum to break free from Atletico's pressure. Consequently, Real turned the situation around with a powerful volley from Guler in response to a pass from Vinicius Junior.

The success of breaking through Real's goal from a cross and aerial ball was attempted again by Atletico. As a result, "Los Rojiblancos" managed to equalize through a header from striker Alexander Sorloth at the end of the first half.

The scheme of Sorloth's goal is almost similar to that of Le Normand. The Real players reacted relatively slowly when the opponents gained momentum in ball possession. This situation allowed Koke to find enough space to deliver a precise pass to Sorloth. Match statistics indicate that Atletico was more dominant in terms of successful crosses, with six, surpassing Real, which recorded four successful crosses.

"This is a positive blow for the journey ahead. In duels and aerial balls into our area, we lost too often, and with the ball, we did not find a solution," said Alonso.

Having successfully equalized at the end of the first half, Atletico continued to apply pressure in the second half. Julian Alvarez had a remarkable performance in the second half, scoring two goals that put Atletico significantly ahead of Real.

The Argentine striker contributed to Atletico's penalty award after his cross was poorly anticipated by Guler, who raised his foot too high, hitting Nico Gonzalez's head. Alvarez, stepping up as the executor, successfully fulfilled his duty. Real's defense was punished again by Alvarez through a free kick execution from outside the penalty area a few minutes later.

Two goals against Real seem to be Alvarez's way of avenging the painful defeat in last season's Madrid Derby. At that time, Alvarez's penalty in the second meeting of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 was disallowed. The reason was that Alvarez was deemed to have touched the ball twice before taking the kick. That moment of failure ultimately contributed to Real winning the penalty shootout and advancing to the quarter-finals.

"During the break, the message was clear that we must continue to press. We created opportunities; today we were effective. We created the most opportunities in La Liga, including the best in Europe. Now we are performing clinically; that is the difference," said Alvarez.

Real is increasingly losing direction after being left behind by Alvarez's brace. In an attempt to score a response goal, the Real players tried to play more aggressively by pushing up their defensive line. However, this effort was not supported by a well-structured rest defense.

The oversight resulted in the fifth goal for Atletico, scored by substitute forward Antoine Griezmann. The goal originated from a mistake by a Real defender in passing the ball, which was quickly seized by Alex Baena. The player, acquired by Atletico from Villarreal, then passed the ball to Griezmann.

This defeat is clearly a severe blow for Real, which is striving to maintain its distance from Barcelona in second place. The two eternal rivals are only two points apart at the top of the temporary standings. Barca will usurp Real from the top if they succeed in winning against Real Sociedad in another match.