Diego Simeone said he would go to the Santiago Bernabéu with the same enthusiasm as always, but by the time he left that had been replaced by a feeling of pessimism and impotence.
A Karim Benzema goal meant Atlético Madrid lost a domestic derby here for the first time since 2012, leaving them 13 points behind their city rivals. Thirteen points and much more besides. If Zinedine Zidane has revived Real there is an inescapable sense that Simeone’s side are no longer what he made them.
It may have been only one goal, it may not always have been easy, but it was enough. Once the Atlético striker Álvaro Morata had departed injured early in the second half, taking the visitors’ hopes with him, it always seemed as if it would be.
A first half in which Atlético posed a threat gave way to a second in which there seemed to be only one possible outcome, an outcome that was loudly roared at the final whistle. Three of the last four competitive games between these two teams had ended goalless but this time the deadlock lasted just under an hour and the result was no more than Real deserved.
On the first day after Brexit there was no place in the squad for the two Britons at Madrid’s clubs: Gareth Bale, returning from an ankle injury but fit again, was left out by Zidane while Kieran Trippier, struggling with a groin problem, was missing for Atlético. In their absence both managers flooded the midfield, yet for all the players in the middle of the pitch there was little fluidity there. The passing was imprecise, the ball given away with startling ease, and you got the sense that possession felt risky for almost everyone.
There was a sluggishness to the start, too. The first two chances, inside 10 minutes, came to Sergio Ramos – and both times Atlético were opened up too easily for Simeone’s liking.
Slowly, if a little uneasily, Atlético worked their way into the game. Morata created his side’s first attempt on goal, sweeping the ball out to the right where Sime Vrsaljko’s cross was turned goalwards by Vitolo only for Thibaut Courtois to make the save. A moment later Saúl flashed a shot wide and Ángel Correa went even closer when he hit the near post.
There was more, if not much, and it was Atlético who produced it. On the half-hour Casemiro leant across Morata, arm out across the striker’s thigh, and the two tumbled. The shout was a big one but the referee, Xavier Estrada Fernández, waved away the penalty appeals.
The changes came swiftly and suddenly the momentum swung. Zidane sent on Vinícius Júnior and Lucas while Simeone was forced to withdraw Morata. The transfer window had closed without Atlético succeeding in signing Edison Cavani, while Diego Costa is still injured, so there was no striker to replace Morata except the 18-year-old Sergio Camello. Simeone decided against using him which left Correa as a lonely figure in a centre-forward position for which he is not suited, running more through obligation than any real belief. Atlético became even more toothless, lacking presence or threat. Lacking conviction too. They had never reached this point of the season with fewer goals and knew changing that was unlikely now.
Their situation became worse when they fell behind. Vinícius neatly slipped the ball into the path of Ferland Mendy, who bent a left-footed pass across the six-yard box for Benzema to sidefoot home. It felt as if Atlético could aspire only to keep the score at one, and Real knew as much.
The final margin may have been a solitary goal but in reality it was wider than that. The Bernabéu could even afford to laugh when Mendy ballooned a shot way over the bar and clap when Jan Oblak saved from Vinícius. They even allowed themselves a mocking chant for Simeone to stay.
