ATLETICO MADRID 4 REAL MADRID 0
Atletico Madrid - Tiago 14', Saul 18', Griezmann 67', Mandzukic 89'
Man of the match - Antoine Griezmann (Atletico)
"Iker, Iker, Iker," hollered 54,000 Atletico Madrid fans in an attempt to embarrass Real Madrid's captain as he cursed after a mistake.
But there was no hiding place for Iker Casillas as he picked the ball out of his goal after 13 minutes of on Saturday’s Madrid derby.
Known as “Saint Iker” in Spain and described as the best player for the best team in the world by rival manager Diego Simeone, the goalkeeper would have hoped to shrug off the humiliation after Tiago’s low shot from the edge of the area squirmed under his body.
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He has seen his side come from behind many times, famously in last season’s European Cup final when Atletico were seconds from victory before being bailed out by Sergio Ramos. The defender was one of several absences and it told.
That Lisbon defeat was the last time Real Madrid beat their cross-city rivals, the current champions of Spain.
They had been unable to win in five previous meetings this season. In the sixth they were destroyed and Casillas’s afternoon only deteriorated.
Atletico may have lost key midfielder Koke after seven minutes, but his 20-year-old replacement Saul Niguez excelled. He put his side 2-0 up after 14 minutes with a spectacular overhead kick.
Carlo Ancelotti claimed pre-match that his team were not scared, despite looking it.
“We have an idea how they work, which is especially well in the defensive areas,” Ancelotti said.
Except they did not, as Atletico put them under so much pressure that the European and world champions had a solitary effort on target in the first-half.
Madrid were missing Luka Modric, Pepe, Marcelo, James Rodriguez and Ramos, but their side was still stocked with world-class talent, yet Cristiano Ronaldo, back after a two-game ban, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were starved of opportunity and influence.
The league leaders would have gone 10 points clear of Atletico had they won, but they were not close to a draw and ideas of a second-half comeback were gone as they fell to their heaviest defeat since the famous 5-0 at Barcelona in 2010.
In-form Frenchman Antoine Griezmann came close to making it 3-0 three times around the hour while Ronaldo fell over in a battle for the ball with the excellent former Real Madrid full-back Juanfran.
The Portuguese sat prostrate on the turf, booed and battered, his team out cold in the cold.
When Griezmann, Spain’s player of the month for January, scored his 15th goal of the season in the 67th minute, Atletico’s fans cherished every second as they did Mexican waves around the Calderon.
When Madrid brought Asier Illarramendi on for Isco, it looked like damage limitation, but Ancelotti’s side were beaten, with defenders Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane out-thought and outfought for the third.
Griezmann was substituted for Fernando Torres to an ovation after 77 minutes, before another close season signing, Mario Mandzukic, got the goal he deserved. The Croatian had already provided two assists but in the 88th minute Atletico’s top scorer netted himself, a diving header from a Torres cross.
Atletico had not scored four against their neighbours since 1977, a fact Ronaldo would not have wanted to dwell on as he celebrated his 30th birthday after the game in the Spanish capital.
Another epic title race awaits and Atletico are not quite ready to relinquish their crown.
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