Both sides took this game very seriously and the significance of the Madrid derby needs no elaboration.

The media was less enthusiastic about the derby than the national derby, but it did devote a lot of space to it.

The combined investment of both teams this season is more than 200 million euros, which also makes their results very impressive.

Real Madrid sit top of the table, with Atletico Madrid fourth-placed at the halfway point, but now they have overtaken Barcelona to move into third place in the league and have a good chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League. This game is naturally not to be lost for them.

Atletico Madrid's biggest discovery this season was the little golden boy Sergio Aguero. He arrived last season for €23 million, breaking the record for Atletico Madrid's transfer fee. He has started to mature this season, with 16 goals in all competitions to date, which is an impressive stat for the whole of Europe.

You know, even Ricardo has only scored 12 goals this season. Of course, Ricardo's focus this season has been on organising attacks and delivering the final pass, and his tally has reached 17.

Fresh after the Copa del Rey match, Sergio Aguero looked ahead to the clash with Real Madrid: "It's going to be difficult to break down the door of Casillas, but it's definitely not impossible. I'm looking forward to scoring again and helping us beat Real Madrid." ”

'It's exciting to play against players of the caliber of Ricardo, Ronaldo, Kaka and I regret they didn't play in the first round of the league and now I can finally make up for it.'

"I've scored more goals than Ricardo? Yes, but I don't think that means I'm on par with Ricardo. I still have a lot to learn. I aspire to be in the national team with a good performance. ”

This game is very difficult for Real Madrid. They have a number of main players who are unable to play. In particular, in the centre-back position, Heinze, Pepe and Metzelder are all injured, and Manuel Pellegrini has tried a combination of Ramos and Cannavaro in training.

At right-back, perhaps M. Torres or Salgado, who has been absent for a long time.

In midfield, Diarra is on his way to the Africa Cup of Nations, and Gago is injured. Up front, Arjen Robben was also injured in training.

Of course, Pellegrini still has a lot of cards to play and is not overstretched.

On the evening of January 20 at the Calderón Stadium, Manuel Pellegrini unexpectedly partnered Pepe and Cannavaro, who had not yet recovered from their injuries, in central defence, with M. Torres on the left and Ramos on the right.

In midfield, he used a back-to-back combination of Guti and Gago, with Ricardo on the left wing, Kaka up front, Raul on the right wing, and Ruud van Nistelrooy as a single centre-forward.

Atletico Madrid's formation is 442, with Abbiati in goal, and defenders Perea, Ibañez, Elle and Antonio. López, midfielder Maxi. Rodriguez, Raul. Garcia, Motta and Simao, forwards Sergio Aguero and Forlan.

Overall, they only have a forward line that can compete with Real Madrid, and the other lines are significantly weaker than Real Madrid.

This was also evident in the competition. Real Madrid, who are in good form, played very strongly, making Atletico Madrid embarrassed.

Just 30 seconds into the game, Ricardo won the ball on the left side and broke through in succession, reaching the bottom line and shaking off Ibáñez's cross, and Raul cut in from the back to open the scoring for Real Madrid.

At this time, many Atletico Madrid fans had not yet entered, and the Calderón stadium had not yet sounded a neat singing, not only the Atletico Madrid players were not prepared for the goal, but the fans were not mentally prepared.

By the time they reacted and booed, Ricardo and Raul had finished their celebrations and were standing in midfield waiting for kick-off.

"Atletico Madrid had a bad start and it seemed to indicate that they wouldn't have a good start to the game...... Of course, a premature goal can disrupt Atletico Madrid's deployment, as well as Real Madrid's deployment. The narrator commented.

But the truth is that Real Madrid were prepared to take the lead. They came for victory in the first place.

If it was last season, under Fabio Capello, they would have started to recycle after taking the lead and counter-attacking defensively.

But Manuel Pellegrini has a different approach to coaching.

After taking the lead, Real Madrid instead launched a more fierce scramble in the front court, burning the fire to Atletico Madrid's half.

Atletico Madrid were certainly not willing to give in, but in this fierce scramble, it was difficult for them to organize an effective attack.

Once Real Madrid grabbed the ball, they launched a counterattack on the spot, causing a lot of trouble for Atletico Madrid.

In the 18th minute, Gago made a successful steal in front of the field and pushed the ball to Guti, who immediately went straight to Kaka's feet.

Kaka broke through at high speed with the ball, but Atletico Madrid was still quick to return to the defense, and he couldn't find the space to get up or pass the ball in the middle, so he distributed the ball to the right side of the box.

Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped in to pick up the ball and immediately crossed the ball to the back post, where the unmarked Ricardo jumped comfortably and headed the ball into the net.

"Ricardo Goallllllll! He scored his eighth league goal of the season! In less than 20 minutes into the opening period, Real Madrid had a two-goal lead! "What a run, he deceived the entire Atletico Madrid backline and scored the ball in an unmarked position." ”

'It was Ricardo's first shot of the game and he scored. He's had a higher conversion rate this season, and he's a terrifying goalkeeper! ”

'On Atletico Madrid's side, Forlan had one shot and Sergio Aguero had two, but neither could create enough threat. Compared to Ricardo, Aguero is too immature! But we do see potential in this young player as well. In this game, can he lead Atletico Madrid to a comeback? ”

Seemingly spurred on by Ricardo's goal, Sergio Aguero played more actively. In the 26th minute, he passed the ball to Forlan, who forced a shot at Salgado and was saved by Casillas.

One minute later, Sergio Aguero received a pass from Simão and tried to drive a far corner on the left side of the box, but it was off target.

In the 30th minute, Atletico Madrid took a free kick in front, Perea rubbed in front of the point, Aguero snatched the first leg from the crowd, and the football hit the crossbar and bounced.

"Unlucky, Aguero today. You can see that he's in good shape and wants to contribute to the team, but he always looks a little bit up. Perhaps the difference between the best players and the world's top players," said the commentator, "Atletico Madrid can hardly break into the opponent's penalty area through positional battles, but instead threaten a few times with set-pieces. They have to find a way to solve the problem of positional warfare. ”