Madrid – On the touch line, Diego Simeone was crying. Julián Álvarez had just put Atlético de Madrid 4-2 against Real Madrid, curving a free kick beyond Thibaut Courtois to decisively change the derby in favor of Atlético and maybe start his season.
For Simeone, it was too much. He rubbed his face, almost sank his knees, before smiling, rubing his eyes again and covering his face with his hands. He did everything possible, but he did not hide: they were tears, an effusion of relief and joy, of pressure released.
In an instant, on the biggest stage, against its greatest rivals, Atlético's difficult and demoralizing had dragged the season. In the Metropolitan, they were delivering electrical and historical performance, and anything seemed possible.
He finished 5-2, and if his reaction did not say enough, here is a statistic: in all 14 years by Simeone, he had never seen his team scoring five goals against Real Madrid in a competitive game.
“There is a lot of emotion,” Simeone admitted later, speaking with Dazn, when asked about those tears. “It is a season that began with great difficulty. There is a lot of effort, of many people behind the scene. His work is fantastic.”
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There was also emotion for Xabi Alonso. His first Derby in Madrid as a coach ended not only in defeat, but in a painful lesson. “This defeat hurts,” he said later. “We were missing a team.”
Until Saturday, the beginning of the Real Bajo Alonso season had been almost impeccable, winning each game, the team grew constantly in stature and trust, led by Kylian Mbappé, who scored another excellent goal here, his eighth in LaLiga this season. But now, Alonso admitted: “We have to draw conclusions from what happened.”
This type of loss is not acceptable in Real Madrid, even for a new coach with a lot of credit, such as Alonso. “We don't find our level,” he said.
A player who undoubtedly discovered his level is the MVP of the Derby, Julian Álvarez, and his performance also showed that many things can change in a week.
Last Sunday, Álvarez was sitting, dejected, at the Atlético Bank, dragged early by Simeone in the last disappointing performance of the team, a 1-1 draw in Real Mallorca. There were suggestions, later disputed by Álvarez, who had murmured “always me” in reaction to be retired by Simeone. He insisted that he had simply been frustrated with himself.
Five goals in four days later, the last two in the second half of this derby, a converted penalty of Cooly and the free kick that made Simeone cry, and Julian cannot stop smiling.
“It's very special,” he said later. “We knew how important it was. It is a derby, and we needed the three points … at the beginning of the season, we did not get the results, but we were playing well. We have been creating more opportunities than any other team. Today we were more efficient.”
Simeone frequently called Álvarez “the best player we have.” “It's very, very good,” said the coach on Saturday. “He works hard, he is committed. We have to take care of him.”
When he was asked to clarify what “caring for him” meant, Simeone was explicit: “We have to give him the tools to score goals.” Atlético's collective game must be at the team's star level.
Upon entering the Derby, that had not been the case, with nine points separating these two teams before the game after only six days of LaLiga. Real led the way with six victories of six. Atlético, with three draws and a loss in his record, were already in the middle of the table. A Real Madrid victory in the Metropolitan would have felt like a knockout blow. Instead, he is Atlético whose season has been revived.
In all 28 LaLiga Derbies of Simeone, there are not many as entertaining as this. Devils, the previous three in the League had finished 1-1. In the last 16 champions league last 16, a penalty shooting was needed to separate them. That particular night was defined by Álvarez's slip in the shooting, a penalty of two touches, which unfortunately cost Atlético the tie. It was a moment that derailed, and ended up defining, the season of Atlético, which later deviated in disappointment.
This week, Julian has had the opposite effect. On Wednesday, the team was 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano before Álvarez scored twice in eight minutes in the second half. That night he ended with Simeone and Álvarez sharing a bear hug in the field, aware of the importance of the moment.
Then, on Saturday, Álvarez delivered again.
And what about Alonso's true Madrid? They have improved since last season, looking better organized, with Mbappé in their best race form, and exciting signs of Arda Güler and Franco Mastantuono. Güler shone again on Saturday, contributing to another objective and assistance.
There will also be more of Jude Bellingham, who seemed to have been taken to the team here, for his first start of the season, after having played only 20 minutes before. But this was the confirmation that Madrid is far from the finished article.
“We are in a construction phase,” Alonso said on Saturday. “This is a process.” But the scale of defeat was impressive.
There were some complaints off the referee, such as the decision not to give Alexander Sorloth a second yellow card to celebrate with fans in the stands after their equal equality, but they did not hide from the fact that this loss was, as Alonso admitted, completely deserved.
Madrid was not quick enough to close Atlético, who were repeatedly offered opportunities to deliver balls in the box, where Madrid's defenders seemed equally poorly equipped to deal with Sorloth's aerial threat, or Álvarez's fast feet. Alonso called him “positive damage”, an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. But it is damage, however.
“There are difficult days, that's sport, that's football,” Alonso said on Saturday. “The important thing is how we react.”
