By Ayomide Otitoju
Real Madrid maintained pressure on La Liga leaders Barcelona with a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, courtesy of a brace from Vinícius Júnior.
After Barcelona edged Rayo Vallecano 1-0 earlier in the day, Madrid kept the gap to the champions at four points. The victory marked a successful week for new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who had also guided Los Blancos past Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.
Atletico drew first blood in the 33rd minute when Ademola Lookman converted a slick team move, assisted by Giuliano Simeone. However, Madrid responded early in the second half. Vinícius Júnior converted a penalty in the 52nd minute after David Hancko fouled Brahim Diaz, before Federico Valverde’s long-range effort put Madrid ahead three minutes later.
Atletico fought back with a stunning strike from Nahuel Molina to level the score, but Vinícius curled home a second goal to secure all three points for the hosts. The Brazilian has now scored 10 goals in his last 11 matches across all competitions, highlighting his superb form this season.
The match saw late drama when Valverde was sent off for a foul on Alex Baena. Despite going down to 10 men, Madrid held on as Atletico’s Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth were denied in stoppage time by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who deputised for the injured Thibaut Courtois.
Arbeloa also introduced Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe from the bench, marking Bellingham’s first appearance since February, but neither could influence the outcome as Madrid preserved a narrow but crucial victory in their first derby under the new coach.
