Real Madrid secured extra time in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, but this time, Los Colchoneros didn’t allow their city rivals to torment them in the additional 30 minutes.A crazy football performance was delivered by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, craving top-level football a week ago in Saudi Arabia. Eight goals were squeezed into this Super Cup semi-final, decided in favour of Carlo Ancelotti’s team in the final minutes of the second extra time! It might seem unreal after the 5-3 victory for Ancelotti’s team, but tonight’s Derby Madrileno at the Metropolitano in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey was even crazier!Atletico led twice, and Real returned twice, and after Blancos secured extra time in the final minutes of the match, it seemed that, as many times in the last ten years, Atletico’s woes against their much more illustrious and powerful city rival could come into play in the additional 30 minutes. But the opposite happened. Diego Simeone’s boys maintained stability from the 90th to the 120th minute, and on the wings of Antoine Griezmann, they crushed last season’s Copa del Rey winner – 4-2 (2-2 after 90 minutes).Revenge! Small, but sweet. Not only for last week’s defeat but also for last year’s clash in the Copa del Rey when Real also caught extra time, then tormented Los Rojiblancos. And a little payback for that 2014 one. Truth be told, those torments from that Champions League final will hurt as long as the world exists because that Ramos header that took away the European champion title from Atletico is unforgettable, as well as Bale’s, Ronaldo’s, and Di Maria’s torment in extra time. But tonight, those struggles are not being thought about. Only the Little Prince of Madrid is celebrated. What kind of player Antoine Griezmann is, what he is capable of doing with the ball, was seen in the 100th minute! He decided to go alone against everyone, and it ended with the ball through the ears of Andrej Lunin and an eruption at the Metropolitano!
The red and white part of Madrid enjoyed themselves in the stands, but their hearts stopped for a few seconds in the 110th minute when Jude Bellingham hit the net. Probably, in those moments, the average Atletico fan had in mind all those images of the previously mentioned matches, but the assistant referee’s flag quickly found itself in the air, and after a VAR check, the hosts breathed a sigh of relief, and Bellingham remained without a goal for Real for the fifth consecutive match.The end of Real’s interest in the trophy was signed by Simeone’s substitutes – Memphis Depay set it up, and Rodrigo Riquelme scored the goal that signalled the end for Blancos even before the final whistle.Indeed, Atletico could have closed the game much earlier; it didn’t have to be the hard way because Real offered itself openly with its game from the 60th minute and left a lot of space for counter-attacks. From Lunin’s save, a Real counter-attack opened, and in the next attack, Morata’s miss was punished by Joselu, who hinted at another 30 minutes.##NAJAVA_MECA_7812680##The 90 minutes were also marked by two costly goalkeeping mistakes. First, Oblak’s from the end of the first half when he awkwardly threw the ball into his own net, cancelling out teammate Samuel Lino’s lead (39th minute), and Lunin returned the gift before Morata’s goal. Admittedly, it was a big absence of communication between the Ukrainian and Antonio Rudiger.Also, the Metropolitano saw two completely different halves. First, relatively poor if we compare it with the continuation and the madness that increased from minute to minute. It is enough to say that in the first half, the main referee showed one yellow card. In the continuation, ten, and in extra time, two more. Hardly anyone on the field was not cautioned.In both halves, Atletico was somewhat protected under the guise of fortune because Bellingham in the 11th and Rodrigo in the 75th minute hit the crossbar. True, in both shots, the committed defensive players of the hosts managed to react and somewhat redirect the ball’s flight.Fate took care that tonight we get the eighth consecutive Madrid derby, which in elimination matches that involve one game, got its epilogue after extra time! Real and Atletico just don’t know any other way, and for who knows which time, they have given the football planet 120 minutes of football hedonism. And tonight, Atletico, for the second time in the competitive year, took the measure of the La Liga leader and continues to boast that it is the only team that beat Carlo Ancelotti’s team in the current season.