Atlético shook off their slow start to the current La Liga season with a 5-2 thrashing of Real on the back of a dominant second half. Atlético opened the scoring in the 14th minute by way of a Robin Le Normand header that finished off a cross sent in by Giovanni Simeone. Later in the first half, Real would fire back with two goals within an 11-minute span - the first from Kylian Mbappé, the second from Arda Güler who had earlier set up Mbappé's goal.
Shortly before the half-time interval, Atlético centre-back Clement Lenglet had a goal waved off by VAR after a check revealed that the Frenchman had handled the ball on its way into the net. Nevertheless, Atlético entered the break on level terms after Alexander Sørloth scored his side's second headed goal of the match in first-half stoppage time.
It was one-way traffic after the break as Atlético completely took over. Following an Atlético corner kick early in the second half, Güler fouled Nicolás González in the penalty area; the ensuing penalty was duly converted by Julián Alvarez. The Argentinian striker scored his second and Atlético's fourth in the 63rd minute with a spectacular free kick. Fittingly, rounding off the victory was a stoppage-time goal scored by none other than the greatest player to ever put on an Atlético jersey: Antoine Griezmann.
At this point, it's remarkable to think that from 1999 to 2013, Atlético did not beat Real even once. Yet at this point, if there's any team that seems to have the blueprint to stopping the 15-time European champions, it would have to be Atlético. Not even Real's greatest rivals Barcelona have had Real's number like this as Real have beaten Barça in five of the last 11 editions of El Clásico.
Despite conceding two goals, Atlético kept Real's attack stymied throughout the match; the two goals which Real scored were their only two shots on target. Real were simply unable to cope with the level of intensity that Atlético brought. Atlético were not only able to have their way with Real's attack for the vast majority of the match; they turned this defensive edge into goalscoring chances of their own on offense.
Real couldn't find any way to counter Atlético's pressing and rotations and on multiple occasions ended up overcommitting because of this. As soon as Sørloth scored the equalizing goal, it almost seemed inevitable that Atlético would run away with the match in the second half. It never really felt as though Real played like they themselves genuinely believed they could beat Atlético - a stunning contrast when compared to what Madrid derbies before 2010 were usually like.
Although Atlético remain six points behind Real who remain in first place in the league despite the loss, a result like this clearly highlights that they can't be counted out in their pursuit of a first league title in five years. There's still more than enough time to make up the ground they've lost in the early going - and if recent history is anything to go by, Atlético will likely take three more points off Real in the upcoming reverse fixture in March as well.
While it may be true that on the surface this was "just one early-season match", the trend has nonetheless been incredibly obvious to anyone paying attention. This wasn't even necessarily entirely an instance of Atlético outstrategizing Real; this most recent victory was all the evidence that anyone could've needed as proof that Diego Simeone's team has entirely reversed the Madrid clubs' respective statuses as far as their history in derby matches is concerned.
The Madrid derby has never held the prestige of its counterparts in London, Milan, or Manchester, among others, largely due to Atlético Madrid's ineptitude for long stretches of time. However, we have clearly entered a new era - one in which Atlético are not only competitive, but the outright favourites to win derby matches.
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