Football: Real Madrid cruise to victory in derby against Atletico
MADRID (REUTERS) – Real Madrid won 2-0 against a listless Atletico Madrid on Sunday (Dec 12), securing a 10th straight victory in all competitions that tightened their grip on top spot in LaLiga.
Karim Benzema, who had been a doubt for the game with a leg injury and only played the first 45 minutes, made the most of his time on the pitch, hitting a beautiful volley from Vinicius Jr’s perfect cross to open the scoring in the first half.
It was the 17th goal of his career against Atletico and 13th of the season to lead the LaLiga scoring chart.
Vinicius Jr did not score but was man of the match after earning another assist early in the second half, this time for Marco Asensio as Real extended to 11 their unbeaten streak against their local rivals in LaLiga.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are currently cruising at the top of the table, eight points clear of second-placed Sevilla and 13 above Atletico in fourth, albeit having played a game more than both.
“To win a derby is very important to our fans and I bet they left the stadium really happy,” Asensio told reporters.
“Vinicius is playing really well, we are delighted with his progression this season. He is doing it all, scoring, assisting.
We are all happy for him.” The home team were in total control from start to finish with the Santiago Bernabeu crowd chanting “Ole” in unison when there were still 25 minutes to play in the second half.
It was their fourth consecutive game without conceding a single goal.
Fan favourite Vinicius, who got a standing ovation when receiving LaLiga’s player of the month trophy before the game, is yet to score a goal against Atletico in his four seasons in Spain, but on Sunday he turned provider for his team mates.
He started the counter-attack that ended with Benzema’s opener, stealing the ball in midfield and sprinting all the way up-front to receive a pass from Asensio and cross for Benzema to smash a volley into the net.
After the break, he led another counter, showing good vision to feed the ball to Asensio to score.
The defeat was a blow for Atletico, who have not won a Madrid derby in the league since February 2016.