Real Madrid's away game against Atletico Madrid was defined by the pro-Real Madrid media as a "revenge fight", and they do have a reason to call it that, as Real Madrid have faced Atletico Madrid five times this season without winning once.

Yes, the season is not over yet, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have already met five times.

There are two Spanish Super Cups, two Copa del Rey and one La Liga in those five games.

Real Madrid's record against Atletico Madrid in five matches is two draws, three defeats and one winless.

In particular, the two games away to Atletico Madrid were lost.

Because of this, it will be considered a revenge battle by many Real Madrid fans and pro-Real Madrid media.

The pro-Atletico Madrid media found it ridiculous that you had won ours in the Champions League final, snatched our Champions League title, and now you are shouting revenge as if you were a victim...... How can the world be so twisted?

In the minds of Atletico Madrid fans, perhaps no matter how many wins in ordinary games are, it will be difficult to offset the defeat in that Champions League final.

This pain can last for a long time.

After all, it was the Champions League final, and Atletico Madrid had lost not just three points, not just a game win, but a Champions League title – which could have been the first Champions League trophy in the club's history.

So in the eyes of Atletico Madrid fans, Real Madrid's revenge is both hypocritical and ridiculous.

Don't think that they haven't lost against Real Madrid since the new season, and they think that Atletico Madrid's revenge is over.

How is that possible?

How can the hatred of the Champions League title be easily offset by a few ordinary victories?

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In the pre-match press conference, Diego Simeone confirmed that Gao Zheng will start this game, which is also in line with everyone's expectations.

After all, Gao Zheng was asked to play as a substitute in the last game, and he didn't come off the bench until the last ten minutes of the game, just so that Gao Zheng could have a good rest and have enough physical strength to play this city derby. If Gao Zheng didn't abide by the law in this game, then why did Simone do it?

The most eye-catching match was naturally the duel between Gao Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo.

If Gao Zheng had just joined Atletico Madrid, if it was said that the focus of the showdown between the two teams was Gao Zheng and Ronaldo, I am afraid it would have caused some controversy - before the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, everyone was concerned about whether Gao Zheng could adapt to La Liga and Atletico Madrid, and they didn't care about the duel between him and Ronaldo, and no one thought that Gao Zheng could become a player on par with Ronaldo at that time.

But now everyone tacitly assumes that Gao Zheng is the one who can threaten Ronaldo.

This is because of Gao Zheng's excellent performance over the past half season, especially his performance in three games against Real Madrid.

In these three games, Gao Zheng has become a key figure on Atletico Madrid's side, and his outstanding performance directly helped Atletico Madrid win the Spanish Super Cup and beat Real Madrid away.

Now everyone is no longer discussing whether Gao Zheng can adapt to La Liga and Atletico Madrid, because the fact is here, Gao Zheng has become the offensive core of Atletico Madrid, and it is not a matter of adapting to that level at all.

On Real Madrid's side, their star player Cristiano Ronaldo finally returned from suspension after being suspended for two games for a red card, and did not miss this crucial game.

This is the biggest positive news for Real Madrid.

The Portuguese was sent off in the 20th round of the league, Real Madrid's away game against Córdoba.

At that time, Real Madrid played a promoted team, but it was very difficult to play, and it was still a 1-1 draw until the 82nd minute. This may have also led to some impetuousness among the Portuguese. He first kicked down Córdoba's player Edimal in the penalty area, and then pushed away Córdoba player Jose Crespo, who came forward to reason with him, and pushed Crespo away with a direct punch in the face, causing a riot.

He was then sent off by the referee with a red card.

At the time, Real Madrid fans were worried that Cristiano Ronaldo would miss the Madrid derby because of the red card.

Because some media said that the La Liga referee committee may impose additional penalties and make him miss more games.

The referee on duty described Ronaldo's foul in his post-match report: "In the 83rd minute, Real Madrid's No. 7 Cristiano Ronaldo was ejected for kicking an opposing player without being able to get the ball. ”

In La Liga this season, any player who was described as such by the referee was punished with a two-match ban.

If it were only for two bans, he would still be able to catch the Madrid derby, because after the 21st round against Real Sociedad, there is a 16th round of make-up matches before the 22nd round of the league against Atletico Madrid, because Real Madrid played in the Club World Cup at that time.

Ronaldo's second red card ban will be used for this rematch so he can still be in time for the match against Atletico Madrid.

But if the referee committee thinks that Cristiano Ronaldo's boxing of Jose Crespo is also counted, then I am afraid that the two bans can be settled.

Fortunately, in the end, the referee committee did not impose additional penalties and banned the Portuguese for two games.

He was able to participate in the local derby.

This was a disappointment for Atletico Madrid, and before the game, Atletico Madrid president Cerezo publicly announced that the Portuguese should be banned for three matches for his actions.

Why three, and not four?

Because a three-game ban is just enough to miss the match against Atletico Madrid.

To this, Real Madrid responded: "It's a pity that Cerezo is not the head of the La Liga referee committee, he is so afraid of Cristiano Ronaldo, which shows what a huge threat Ronaldo is to Atletico Madrid!" So Ronaldo's ability to come back from the ban is really good news for us......

Cristiano Ronaldo is indeed a big threat for Atletico Madrid, as Ronaldo has scored sixteen goals in the meetings between the two teams.

He is the player who has scored the most goals against each other among the active players of both teams.

Therefore, Real Madrid will think that Ronaldo's return from the ban is a major positive, even if Marcelo and Ramos are absent from this game, as long as Cristiano Ronaldo is there, Real Madrid can still play with Atletico Madrid.

In response to Real Madrid's response, the pro-Atletico Madrid media had this to say: "We are not afraid of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Real Madrid may be afraid of Gao Zheng." In the game against Real Madrid, there were goals in the high field, and Real Madrid should think about how to defend against it! ”

The game hasn't started yet, and the war of words between the two sides has already become a little white-hot.

This is the Madrid City Derby.