Manager Xabi Alonso said Real Madrid’s 5-2 defeat to Atlético Madrid in Saturday’s derby “hurts,” but admitted the result was deserved after “a bad game” and stressed the importance of his side’s reaction to the defeat.
A four-goal first half saw the two teams go in at the break 2-2 at the Metropolitano, after Robin Le Normand put Atlético ahead, Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler scored, and Alexander Sørloth levelled in added time.
Julián Álvarez scored a penalty and a free kick to put the home side on top, before substitute Antoine Griezmann added a fifth late on, to condemn Alonso’s table-topping Madrid to their first defeat of the season.
“It was a bad game,” Alonso said in his postmatch news conference. “We didn’t play well collectively, with or without the ball. We weren’t at the level we need to be at.
“We know we’re in a ‘construction phase,’ we have to take conclusions from what happened and they’ll help us in the future, but there are no excuses. We were lacking a gear. This defeat hurts.”
Alonso’s side went into Saturday’s derby with six wins out of six in LaLiga, while Atlético had dropped points in four of their games, despite significant investment in the summer transfer market.
“We weren’t fluid with the ball,” Alonso said. “We weren’t able to win the ball in their half. We couldn’t impose ourselves in the duels … We won’t forget this tough defeat, it hurts us, it hurts the fans, but this is a process. Today we didn’t find the level we’d like, we have to be critical and try to improve.
“We didn’t compete enough. You need to compete more at this level, against these opponents … We feel responsible, and now we’ll see what we have to correct.
“There are tough days, that’s sport, that’s football. What’s important is how we react.”
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Atlético now have 12 points from seven games, after posting back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
“Madrid are one of the best teams in the world, no doubt,” Diego Simeone said. “We knew how we could hurt them … We interpreted the game well. Our fans will be happy. They hadn’t been conceding many goals.”
Simeone praised forward Álvarez, who has scored five goals this week, after a midweek hat trick against Rayo Vallecano.
“He’s very good,” Simeone said. “He works hard, he’s committed. We have to look after him. Let’s hope he can be at the club for many years … I think the team is on the right track.”
“It’s very special,” Álvarez said. “We knew how important this was. It’s a derby and we needed the three points … Earlier in the season, we weren’t getting the results, but we were playing well. Today we were more efficient.”
