"Shambolic performance", "Bellingham is overhyped" - Fans react as Atletico Madrid knock Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in enthralling derby
Copa del Rey holders Real Madrid were knocked out of the competition after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid over 120 minutes on Thursday (January 18).
Jude Bellingham went close to giving Los Blancos the lead in the 11th minute when he rattled the crossbar. Carlo Ancelotti's men were threatening and Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak was forced into a double save in the 21st minute.
Despite Real Madrid's early onslaught, it was the hosts who took the lead in the 39th minute through Brazilian full-back Samuel Lino. The 24-year-old capitalized on a wayward header from Antonio Rudiger tucking away the opener for Diego Simeone's men.
However, Ancelotti's men pulled level on the stroke of half-time as Oblak undid his hard work in the 45+1st minute. Luka Modric's dangerous free-kick gave the Slovenian all sorts of problems and he ended up colliding with Saul Niguez and unintentionally knocked the ball into the back of his net.
It was more calamity that saw Atleti retake the lead in the 57th minute through Alvaro Morata. This time Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin hung his head in shame. The Ukrainian parried the ball onto Rudiger's shin allowing the former Los Blancos striker to tap in from close range to make it 2-1.
Lunin somewhat made up for that poor piece of goalkeeping in the 78th minute to keep Ancelotti's side in the game. He produced a fine stop to keep Antoine Griezmann at bay and then denied Morata in the 81st minute.
Those would prove to be vital stops from the 24-year-old as Real Madrid went down the other end and equalized through Joselu. He completed a superb counter-attacking move with Vinicius and Bellingham linking up before the Spanish striker headed home a dramatic equalizer.
Los Merengues gave Atleti trouble in the 90+2nd minute when Vinicius did excellently to keep the ball in play. His flick-on was stopped by Oblak but the ball deflected off Jose Giminez and nearly ended up in the back of the net.
Griezmann scored the pick of the bunch in the 100th minute after a poor mistake from Vinicius. The Brazilian lost possession of the ball and the French attacker raced down the right flank. He glided his way into the box before smashing into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
Real Madrid had the ball in the back of the net again through Dani Ceballos in the 110th minute. But, Bellingham was adjudged to have been offside during the move which was a let-off for the hosts.
Rodrigo Riquelme confirmed Atleti's place in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey in the 119th minute. The Spanish winger linked up with Memphis Depay on the counter and finished Los Blancos off with a fine finish.
One fan slammed Ancelotti's men's performance:
"What a shambolic performance. We won the Spanish Cup, not the Champions League! Come back to reality..."
Another fan gave a bold take on Bellingham and Vinicius:
"Jude Bellingham is overhyped. Vini Jr is overrated. Getting owned by Athletico Madrid always is why Real Madrid can never be a top club in my book."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Ancelotti's side exiting the Copa del Rey at the hands of their Madrid rivals:
Real Madrid will reportedly use Jude Bellingham blueprint in attempts to sign Erling Haaland
Real Madrid are reportedly prioritizing the signing of Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland over Paris Saint-Germain frontman Kylian Mbappe. The La Liga giants have held preliminary talks with the Norweigan's camp regarding a potential move.
It's claimed that Los Blancos will try and secure a deal for Haaland similar to how they signed Bellingham. They put in tireless work to capture the English star from Borussia Dortmund this past summer for €103 million.
Haaland has been in red-hot form throughout his time at City. He's bagged 71 goals in 75 games and won the Premier League Golden Boot last season.