Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Derby clash could define La Liga title race

Madrid: Real Madrid’s bid to catch Barcelona and win La Liga faces a critical test in the Spanish capital derby on Sunday. Real hosts Atletico, trailing Barcelona by four points with 10 rounds remaining.

A win ensures Real stay close to Barcelona or even gains ground on the front-runner if Hansi Flick’s side were to stumble against Rayo Vallecano earlier on the same day. But a Real loss combined with a Barcelona victory would put Barcelona in a strong position to successfully defend their crown.

Real, Atletico and Barcelona are all feeling good after eliminating English opponents in the Champions League round of 16 this week. Real will be seeking some vengeance for the 5-2 drubbing Atletico dealt it in their first league meeting at Metropolitano Stadium in September.


That result started the downfall of then-coach Xabi Alonso. Real have had some more bad losses under manager Alvaro Arbeloa but Alonso’s replacement got a huge boost after his team handily defeated Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.

Atletico are in third place in La Liga, 13 points behind Barcelona. Atletico’s 7-5 aggregate win over Tottenham in the Champions League set up a European quarterfinal with Barcelona next month. Kylian Mbappe played the last 20 minutes against City after missing several games with a knee injury. Arbeloa said on Saturday that he was excited to have Mbappe back.

“I already told you that the day (Mbappe) came back would be when he was at 100%,” Arbeloa told reporters. “In the minutes we saw him in Manchester, with the two or three bursts of pace he made, every one of those actions showed he’s in great shape and, above all, (it’s about) his own feelings.