(Football news) Barcelona bounced back after their defeat against Bayern Munich with a 3-0 win at home against Elche. Xavi handed Memphis Depay a start for the 2nd league game in a row and the Dutchman didn't disappoint as he put in a brilliant performance. Elche got off to a terrible start as captain Gonzalo Verdu was sent off after he brought down Robert Lewandowski who was straight through on goal. Barcelona scored two goals in the first half via Lewandowski and Depay, both of which were assisted by young left back Alex Balde who is keeping Jordi Alba and Marcos Alonso out of the team. Lewandowski scored his 2nd of the match in the 48th minute which was his 8th goal in the league and 11th in all competitions. The Blaugrana didn't give 10 men Elche any chance to breathe as they got their 5 league win of the season.
Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a very intense Madrid derby. The match had a lot of bad blood even before kick off. Atletico Madrid captain Koke was asked about Vinicius Jr's dancing celebration to which he replied “If Vinicius scored and celebrated in his way, there will be trouble. For sure.” The trouble he said may have been trouble from the Atletico fans who are anything but calm. The statement started a ripple effect with Vinicius being asked to stop dancing like a monkey by the president of the Association of Spanish Agents Pedro Bravo. The statement was heavily criticised even though Bravo retracted it later. Brazilian players including Neymar Jr and Barcelona winger Raphinha showed support to Vinicius Jr. Real Madrid released a statement condemning the statement and threatened legal action. Plenty of Real Madrid players also posted the statement on their social media handles. The Brazilian also got support from non footballers like Sean 'P Diddy' Combs.
Brazilian teammate Gabriel Jesus danced after scoring against Brentford and dedicated it to Vinicius. Atletico Madrid didn't seem to care at all as a large number of their fans shouted racist chants before the game. One fan even had a stuffed monkey with a Real Madrid scarf on it. Vinicius Jr was heavily booed and whistled in the warm up and throughout the game. The home fans kept on shouting racist slurs and even threw objects at several Real Madrid players. There were a couple of announcements in the stadium but it didn't stop the game and the Real Madrid players didn't even look bothered by it. There was just one incident where Thibaut Courtois who is a former Atletico Madrid player went to the referee and handed him a bunch of items that were thrown towards him which included a lighter.
The Wanda Metropolitano crowd was absolutely buzzing and the home side got an incredible start as they were putting pressure on Los Blancos. Real Madrid then managed to score against the run of play in the 18th minute after Aurélien Tchouaméni assisted Rodrygo whose dancing celebration angered the home fans even more. 10 minutes before halftime Vinicius and Luka Modric played an incredible one two which set the Brazilian through on goal. The goal was Rodrygo's 3rd league goal in his 3rd league start. His subsequent shot hit the post but Fede Valverde was there to smash it into the back of the net. The goal meant that Valverde had now scored in 3 consecutive matches in all competitions. The Uruguayan has just raised his game to another level this season whether it is in midfield or on the wing.
The visitors stepped off the gas after getting a two goal lead and got too comfortable which ended up costing them. 7 minutes before full time, substitute Mario Hermoso scored from Antoine Griezmann's corner after a mistake by Courtois. The Belgian shot stopper made a few rare mistakes, the last one of which ended with Atletico scoring. Hermoso turned from hero to zero as he got two unnecessary yellow cards for causing trouble off the ball. Real Madrid took home 3 points after a fiesty derby which will give them a lot of confidence going into the international break. The Merengues are yet to lose a game this season which is an incredible sign of things to come. Atletico Madrid on the other hand are now 7th on the table and desperately need to come back better after the international break.
Also read: Could Marco Asensio get a lifeline in his career at Real Madrid?
