Vinicius Junior scored a brace, including a penalty, as 10-man Real Madrid came from behind to win 3-2 against Atletico Madrid in the LaLiga derby at Santiago Bernabeu on March 22, 2026. Federico Valverde added a goal before his late red card, cutting leaders Barcelona's advantage to four points after Barca's 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano.
Real Madrid, managed by Alvaro Arbeloa, hosted Atletico Madrid in a pivotal LaLiga derby at 20:00 GMT, following Atletico's 5-2 league win in September and Madrid's 2-1 Spanish Super Cup victory in January. Madrid made two changes from their midweek Champions League win over Manchester City: Andriy Lunin in goal for the injured Thibaut Courtois and Dani Carvajal at right-back after six months out. Starting XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Huijsen, F. Garcia; Valverde, Pitarch, Tchouameni; Guler, Diaz, Vinicius. Atletico, under Diego Simeone, fielded: Musso (for injured Oblak); Llorente, Hancko, Le Normand, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Lookman; Griezmann, Alvarez.
Madrid dominated early with Carvajal's volley saved by Juan Musso and Valverde hitting the post, but Ademola Lookman gave Atletico a 33rd-minute lead, slotting in after interplay with Matteo Ruggeri and Giuliano Simeone. In the second half, Brahim Diaz won a penalty in the 52nd minute after a foul by Hancko; Vinicius converted his fourth penalty in five attempts (with Kylian Mbappe injured or benched) to equalize at 1-1. Valverde then stole possession from Jose Gimenez and finished one-on-one with the outside of his foot for 2-1—his sixth goal in March. Nahuel Molina leveled at 2-2 with a 25-yard strike into Lunin's top corner.
Vinicius, scoreless in 19 prior derbies against Atletico, won it five minutes later, bending a shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass into the far post despite Marcos Llorente's marking—his second of the game. Valverde was sent off 13 minutes from time for a challenge on Alejandro Baena, ruled excessive force by referee Munuera Montero: "No juega balón. Va por detrás y no juega balón, con la intención de derribarlo con fuerza excesiva." Arbeloa protested, "Luego la vas a ver," while Valverde claimed, "Le doy de lado."
Simeone substituted Sorloth, Nico Williams, and Nahuel Molina for Griezmann, Cardoso, and Lookman. Arbeloa brought on Alexander-Arnold and Mbappe for Carvajal and Thiago, later Jude Bellingham after 1.5 months injured. Atletico pressed late—Julian Alvarez hit the post—but Lunin made key saves to secure the win, keeping Madrid in the LaLiga title race without the now-suspended Valverde.
