Real Madrid continued its ascent to the top of the Spanish football league, overcoming a significant hurdle in their campaign to reclaim the title lost last season. They secured a 2-0 victory over the reigning champion Atletico Madrid on Sunday in the highlight match of round 17.
At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Real Madrid dominated the derby, achieving their 10th consecutive win across all competitions and consolidating their grip on the top of La Liga. Karim Benzema, whose participation was in doubt and only played the first 45 minutes, made the most of his time on the pitch, scoring the first goal with a beautiful shot from a cross delivered by Vinicius Junior. This marked Benzema's 17th career goal against Atletico and his 13th for the season, placing him at the top of the league's scoring chart, two goals ahead of his closest rival Juanmi from Real Betis.
Although Vinicius Junior did not score, he was named the man of the match after assisting another goal in the second half, this time for Marco Asensio, extending Real Madrid's unbeaten streak against their local rivals in the league to 11 matches.
The victory elevated Real Madrid's points tally to 42, maintaining their wild resurgence with 13 victories in the league this season and seven in a row, leading by eight points over their closest challengers Sevilla, who still have a game in hand against Barcelona. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid, the defending champion, suffered their third league defeat of the season and second in a row, remaining stagnant at 29 points in fourth position.
With this win, Real Madrid maintained their unbeaten record against Atletico in the league for the 11th consecutive match, securing 5 victories and 6 draws, while Atletico has failed to achieve any victory in the derby in over 5 years.
