MADRID — On the touchline, Diego Simeone was crying. Julián Álvarez had simply put Atletico Madrid 4-2 up towards Actual Madrid, curling a free kick previous Thibaut Courtois to decisively shift the derby in Atletico’s favor and maybe kickstart their season.

For Simeone, it was all an excessive amount of. He rubbed his face, nearly sinking to his knees, earlier than smiling, rubbing his eyes once more, and masking his face along with his palms. He did his greatest, however there was no hiding it: these had been tears, an outpouring of aid and pleasure, of stress launched.

Instantly, on the most important stage, towards their greatest rivals, Atletico’s tough, demoralizing begin to the season had been swept away. On the Metropolitano, they had been delivering an electrical, historic efficiency, and something appeared doable.

It ended 5-2, and if his response didn’t say sufficient, right here’s a stat: In all of Simeone’s 14 years in cost, he had by no means seen his group rating 5 objectives towards Actual Madrid in a aggressive sport.

“There’s plenty of emotion,” Simeone admitted afterwards, talking to DAZN, when requested about these tears. “It’s a season that began with plenty of problem. There’s plenty of effort, from lots of people behind the scenes. Their work is incredible.”

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There was emotion, too, for Xabi Alonso. His first Madrid derby as coach ended not simply in defeat, however in a painful lesson. “This defeat hurts,” he mentioned afterwards. “We had been missing a gear.”

Till Saturday, Actual’s begin to the season beneath Alonso had been close to flawless, successful each sport, the group steadily rising in stature and confidence, led by Kylian Mbappé, who scored one other, very good objective right here, his eighth in LaLiga this season. However now, Alonso admitted: “now we have to attract conclusions from what occurred.”

This type of loss is just not acceptable at Actual Madrid, even for a brand new coach with plenty of credit score, like Alonso. “We didn’t discover our stage,” he mentioned.

One participant who has unquestionably discovered his stage is the derby’s MVP, Julian Alvarez, and his efficiency additionally proved that so much can change in every week.

Final Sunday, Alvarez was sat, despondent, on the Atletico bench, hauled off early by Simeone within the group’s newest disappointing efficiency, a 1-1 draw at Actual Mallorca. There have been strategies, later disputed by Alvarez, that he had muttered “all the time me” in response to being withdrawn by Simeone. He insisted he’d merely been annoyed with himself.

5 objectives in 4 days later — the newest two on this derby’s second-half, a cooly transformed penalty and the free kick that made Simeone cry — and Julián can’t cease smiling.

“It’s very particular,” he mentioned afterwards. “We knew how vital it was. It’s a derby, and we would have liked the three factors… Earlier within the season, we weren’t getting the outcomes, however we had been taking part in properly. We’ve been creating extra possibilities than another group. In the present day we had been extra environment friendly.”

Simeone has steadily referred to as Alvarez “the perfect participant now we have.” “He’s very, superb,” the coach mentioned on Saturday. “He works onerous, he’s dedicated. We now have to take care of him.”

When requested to make clear what “take care of him” meant, Simeone was specific: “now we have to provide him the instruments to attain objectives.” Atletico’s collective play must be on the stage of the group’s star.

Going into the derby, that hadn’t been the case, with 9 factors separating these two groups pre-match after simply six LaLiga matchdays. Actual had been main the best way with six wins out of six. Atletico, with three attracts and a loss on their file, had been already mid-table. A Actual Madrid win on the Metropolitano would have felt like a knockout punch. As an alternative, it’s Atletico whose season has been revived.

In all of Simeone’s 28 LaLiga derbies, there haven’t been many as entertaining as this. Heck, the earlier three within the league had all completed 1-1. In final season’s Champions League final 16, a penalty shootout was wanted to separate them. That individual evening was outlined by Alvarez’s slip within the shootout, a two-touch penalty, which unluckily value Atletico the tie. It was a second that derailed — and ended up defining — Atletico’s season, which subsequently drifted away into disappointment.

This week, Julián has had the other impact. On Wednesday, the group had been 2-1 all the way down to Rayo Vallecano earlier than Alvarez scored twice in eight second-half minutes. That evening ended with Simeone and Alvarez sharing a bear hug on the pitch, conscious of the importance of the second.

Then, on Saturday, Alvarez delivered once more.

And what of Alonso’s Actual Madrid? They’ve improved since final season, trying higher organized, with Mbappé in career-best kind, and thrilling indicators from Arda Güler and Franco Mastantuono. Güler shone once more on Saturday, contributing one other objective and help.

There will likely be extra to come back from Jude Bellingham, too, who appeared to have been rushed into the group right here — for his first begin of the season — having performed simply 20 minutes beforehand. However this was affirmation that Madrid are removed from the completed article.

“We’re in a building part,” Alonso mentioned on Saturday. “It is a course of.” However the scale of the defeat was gorgeous.

There have been some, muted complaints in regards to the referee — similar to the choice to not give Alexander Sorloth a second yellow card for celebrating with followers within the stands after his first-half equalizer — however there was additionally no hiding from the truth that this loss was, as Alonso admitted, totally deserved.

Madrid weren’t fast sufficient to shut down Atletico, who had been repeatedly afforded alternatives to ship balls within the field, the place Madrid’s defenders appeared equally ill-equipped to cope with the aerial risk of Sorloth, or the short ft of Alvarez. Alonso referred to as it “constructive injury,” a chance to study, develop and enhance. However it’s injury, nonetheless.

“There are powerful days, that’s sport, that’s soccer,” Alonso mentioned Saturday. “What’s vital is how we react.”