Atletico Madrid defeats La Liga champions Real Madrid

_{Real Madrid made seven changes to the side that beat Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League during the week as they lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby on Sunday. The Los Blancos had already secured the La Liga title but were not given their rivals’ traditional guard of honor at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.}

_{After securing a comeback victory in the UEFA Champions League in the midweek, where they beat Manchester City 3+1 on the night and 6-5 on aggregate, Carlo Ancelotti gave a rare start to Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, resting Thibaut Courtois.}

_{There was also a start for Luka Jovic upfront ahead of French striker Karim Benzema, Jesus Vallejo, and Lucas Vazquez also started.}

_{However, Atletico Madrid was in control of the game from the start attacking and threatening the Real Madrid goal. The breakthrough finally came before the end of the first half when a VAR review awarded a penalty to Diego Simeone.}

_{Yannick Carrasco stepped up and put the dethroned champions in front going into the break. There were chances for Real Madrid to pull level before going into the break, but Toni Kroos couldn’t find the back of the net while Luka Jovic’s effort was saved by Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.}

_{The win strengthened Atletico Madrid’s chances of playing in the UEFA Champions League next season as they are now six points ahead of Real Betis, who sit in 5th. Atletico Madrid has three more games to seal the fourth place and the UEFA Champions League ticket.}

_{Real Madrid’s last three games include Levante, Cadiz, and Real Betis on the final day of the}

_{Real Betis lost 2-1 to Barcelona earlier on Saturday as the Blaugrana sealed their UEFA Champions League spot for next season, seemingly condemning Real Betis to a Europa League spot in the fifth position.}

_{Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu}