Real Madrid’s unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday as they suffered a 5-2 loss to Atlético Madrid in the Spanish Championship derby.

Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sørloth, Julián Álvarez (2), and Antoine Griezmann scored for Diego Simeone’s side at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, while Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler netted for Madrid.

Alonso: “We didn’t compete enough”

Head coach Xabi Alonso admitted his side fell short in quality and intensity.

“It was a bad game. We didn’t start well, we didn’t play well either collectively or in terms of quality of play, with or without the ball. We are in a building phase, today is our first defeat,” Alonso said.

“We didn’t compete enough. Not at the level required for these matches, against these opponents,” he added, stressing the need to use the setback “positively.”

League standings tighten

Despite the defeat, Madrid remain top of the table with 18 points, but Barcelona, on 16 points, could overtake them if they beat Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Atlético climbed to fourth with 12 points after an inconsistent start to the season.

Simeone praises execution

Atlético boss Diego Simeone hailed his players’ approach. “We played a great match from the start. We knew where we could hurt them. The players understood this very well,” he said.

Meanwhile, forward Julián Álvarez, who scored a hat-trick against Rayo Vallecano in midweek, struck twice more in the derby.

“A very special day. We knew the importance of this match, being a classic and taking points from one of the teams that are in the lead,” Álvarez told Movistar+.

“We had control of the game and scored the two goals very quickly. The team never stopped believing. We were having many chances at the start of the championship and today was the same, but we were efficient.”