Real Madrid – Atlético Madrid: a hard-fought tie (2-1)

Madrid's derby turned out exactly as Carlo Ancelotti stated in his pre-match conference. A hard-fought clash was decided on fine margins. Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz' aesthetically working magic and Julián Alvarez' eye-catching strike led the European Champions to have a slight advantage to take to the second tie at Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

The UEFA Champions League draw resulted in a clash between the archenemies across Madrid's city. Real Madrid has been nothing more than a horror movie to Diego Simeone over his managerial course in European fixtures. Atlético Madrid dramatically lost two finals after they were too close to entering the hall of fame of crowned clubs. Nonetheless, the accolades veered toward Santiago Bernabéu through Sergio Ramos' headers.

At present, Real Madrid is experiencing ups and downs. Lack of consistency and subpar performances have left them in dire straits. Not only that, five points out of fifteen saw them hand LaLiga's lead in a plate to their rivals, Barcelona, but they have been thrown to third place after their last defeat against Real Betis. Carlo Ancelotti's tactical performance raised question marks, and injuries kept hindering Real Madrid, rendering their season bad to worse.

On the other side, Atlético Madrid are reminiscing about the old days, retrieving the title of the sternest defense of the big five European leagues. They conceded only 16 goals throughout the season, and their options on the bench . . .