Before this game began, Real Madrid’s players were handed the trophies they had collected at The Best gala last Monday, and there were two World Cup winners on the other side, but for all the talent on the pitch it was the men wearing gloves who decided the derby. For the sixth successive year, Atlético Madrid left the Santiago Bernabéu unbeaten in the league. Above all, Jan Oblak and Thibaut Courtois departed undefeated: in a game of few chances there were three one-on-ones, but the goalkeepers stood tall. And so a game Atlético edged in the first half and Real dominated in the second finished goalless.
This was the second successive game in which Real have failed to score – the first time that had happened in seven years – and a third may be more likely now after Gareth Bale was withdrawn at half-time. He may yet be ruled out of Real’s trip to Russia in the Champions League with tests due on Sunday, before the team travels east. “He had discomfort in his abductor muscle [in the groin] and it made sense to take him off as a precaution,” Real’s coach Julen Lopetegui said. “We will do tests tomorrow and then we’ll see what he really has.”
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