How Atletico edged out Real Madrid in another breathless cup thriller

One could not help but feel breathless, even suffocated, while bearing witness to this latest Madrid derby. It unquestionably lived up to its reputation as one of the most captivating showdowns in world football. 

Just last week, during the Spanish Super Cup semifinal in Saudi Arabia, Real Madrid and their city rivals Atletico Madrid engaged in an exhilarating clash that produced an astonishing eight goals over the course of 120 minutes. In the end, it was Real who emerged victorious with a sensational 5-3 triumph.  

The fierce rivalry continued late Thursday night at the packed Metropolitano stadium in the Spanish capital, where yet another enthralling 120-minute battle ensued. Brimming with twists and turns, disallowed goals, and inexplicable errors, it was Atletico who ultimately claimed their well-deserved revenge and stormed into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

As predicted by both Atletico coach Diego Simeone and his Real counterpart Carlo Ancelotti, this match proved to be an absolute cracker. While it may not have been as open as the Super Cup, it compensated with an intense level of edginess, tension and aggression.  

Atletico drew first blood when Samuel Lino seized the opportunity on a counter-attack in the 39th minute, capitalizing on a defensive mishap from Antonio Rüdiger, who inadvertently played the ball into his path from a clearance. However, Atletico's goalkeeper Jan Oblak returned the favor just before halftime. In attempting to punch away a free kick from Luka Modric, Oblak made a mistake that resulted in the ball finding its way into his own net.  

Another error led to a goal near the hour-mark. Eduardo Camavinga's poor pass back to his own area left goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and Rudiger confounded, allowing Alvaro Morata to tap the ball into an empty net. Rodrygo came agonizingly close to leveling the contest, his delicate effort striking a defender and rattling off the crossbar. His substitute, Joselu, took it a step further by heading Jude Bellingham's cross past Oblak, a goal that survived a VAR check and injected an extra 30 minutes of pulsating action into the match. 

And then, the moment of magic unfolded. Antoine Griezmann snatched the ball away from Vinicius Junior at the halfway line and surged up the right flank, creating an angle before unleashing a thunderous strike into the roof of the net, leaving Lunin with no chance. Real appeared to have found the net in the 110th minute, but Bellingham was deemed offside. 

In a fitting climax to the gripping extra time, Atletico sealed their victory with a decisive fourth goal. Rodrigo Riquelme masterfully finished off a fluid and incisive attack, bringing an end to the defending champions' journey in the tournament. As the final whistle blew, the atmosphere erupted with joy as Atletico players exuberantly celebrated alongside their faithful fans. They could finally exhale a sigh of relief.