Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday, September 20, inflicting on Jose Mourinho his first Madrid derby defeat since returning to the Real Madrid bench. A crowd of 70,514 watched a goalless, cagey first half give way to a second period decided by one refereeing decision.
The turning point came shortly after the interval, when Dean Huijsen hauled down Giuliano Simeone as the last defender inside the area. Referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias awarded the penalty and, after reviewing the incident at the pitchside monitor, upgraded his caution to a straight red card. Alejandro Grimaldo converted from the spot in the 53rd minute, sending Thibaut Courtois the wrong way.
Jonathan David doubled the lead in the 59th minute against the ten men, and although Antonio Rudiger headed one back in the 89th minute, Real Madrid could not force an equaliser. It was their second league defeat of the campaign.
Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference holding printed images of two incidents he believed warranted dismissals for Atletico players. “Those were two clear red cards,” he said, adding of the official: “They’ve put a referee, aged 41, with no international experience.” Atletico responded publicly on social media, pushing back at what the club framed as harassment of match officials. Diego Simeone, who had not previously beaten Mourinho in LaLiga, said his side “played a mature game, forced our opponents into mistakes and deserved these three points.”
The result leaves Barcelona clear at the top of LaLiga on 21 points from seven games, with Atletico Madrid and Real Betis level on 16 and Real Madrid fourth on 15.
