Although there was little Casillias could do about Saul Niguez’s stunning overhead kick that gave Atletico a 2-0 halftime lead.
The visitors had hoped to cement their strong position in this season’s title battle with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been suspended for two matches following a sending off last month.
But Atletico pushed on in the second half with goals from Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic sealing a historic derby day victory. Atletico are now unbeaten against Real in six matches.
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“Today their capacity to understand what we needed and execute it was fantastic.”
The victory has revived Atletico’s flagging title aspirations. They sit in third, with Real’s lead at the top cut to seven points.
Barcelona, in second place and four points behind Real, will hope to take advantage Sunday when they play Athletic Bilbao
