The first Madrid Derby of the 2025/26 La Liga season is all or nothing for Atletico de Madrid. Los Colchoneros need a victory to keep their title hopes alive.
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Atletico Madrid has been uncharacteristically inconsistent at the start of this La Liga season. Los Colchoneros have dropped nine points over the first six matches, and if Diego Simeone’s men lose to Real Madrid on Saturday, they would end Matchday 7 twelve points behind the league leaders. No team has ever recovered from a 12-point deficit to win La Liga.
Atletico enters Saturday’s match against Real Madrid ninth in the table, nine points behind Real Madrid and seven behind FC Barcelona. Having spent €175 million over the summer on the likes of Alex Baena, Johnny Cardoso, Thiago Almada, and David Hancko, experts expected Los Colchoneros to be mounting a title run. Instead, Simeone’s men are struggling to gel, leaving them chasing La Liga’s top two early in the season.
New signing David Hancko says the beginning of the season has been “a bit of an adaptation period.” With five to six new signings bedding into the side (himself included), Atleti has failed to hit the heights expected of a title-challenger. Speaking to the media ahead of the Madrid Derby, Hancko admitted, “results-wise, it’s not been what we were expecting.”
Atleti lost to RCD Espanyol 2-1 on the opening day of the season and has since dropped points to Elche, Mallorca, and Alaves. The team did bounce back this midweek, with an exciting, albeit last-minute 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano. But unbeaten Real Madrid will be a much greater challenge.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid
VALENCIA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 23: Xabi Alonso, head coach of Real Madrid CF, and Kylian Mbappe smile during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Levante UD and Real Madrid at Ciudad de Valencia stadium on September 23, 2025, in Valencia, Spain. (Photo By Irina R. Hipolito/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Europa Press via Getty Images
Under Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid is undefeated in all competitions so far this season. Despite injuries to the likes of Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Camavinga, red cards for Huijsen, and the summer departure of Luka Modric, Alonso has been able to guide Los Merengues to a perfect start to the season.
Kylian Mbappe has continued his prolific goalscoring form in white. The Frenchman has tallied seven goals across six La Liga games this season, putting him clearly in front in the Pichichi race. In recent matches, teammates Arda Guler, Vinicius Jr., and Franco Mastantuono have also impressed. But Alonso’s men are yet to truly be tested in league play. Their hardest outing so far this season came against Olympique Marseille in the Champions League.
The Madrid Derby offers Real Madrid the opportunity to increase the points gap between them and the Rojiblancos. If Madrid does defeat Atleti, it will be Xabi Alonso’s first win against Diego Simeone as a manager. The Basque coach faced the Argentinian twice while at Bayer Leverkusen, but never managed a win. Alonso does, however, have a history of winning against Atletico; he won 12 of his 16 matches against them as a Real Madrid player.
Vinicius will also be looking to change his fortunes against Los Colchoneros. The Brazilian has never netted against Simeone’s men in his 17 La Liga appearances against them. A goal against them could provide him with some much-needed confidence in what has been a slow start to the season individually.
Alonso’s men head into the match as the only unbeaten team in Spain. The side is settled, and while many pundits expect Madrid’s style of play to improve in the coming months, no one can bemoan the capital club’s efficiency. The only doubt ahead of the derby is whether Jude Bellingham, recently returned from his shoulder surgery, will get a place in the starting eleven.
Ahead of the match, Xabi Alonso was very complimentary about Atleti’s coach. “Simeone inspires me with his authenticity and ability to communicate with the team,” Alonso said at that pre-game press conference. “He’s one of the best at that, at knowing how to get players to understand what he wants. There are a thousand footballing concepts out there, but when it comes to managing players, he’s way ahead of the game. He’s very good.”
A Pivotal Madrid Derby for Atletico
Atletico seems to have found some momentum in recent days. Hancko says the club’s 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano “was huge” and provided a major confidence boost in the dressing room.
Atleti will need that form to carry over on Saturday. If the Rojiblancos are to get a win, the defense will have to be solid, and find a way to keep out Mbappe. The Madrid forward thrives in space, and with balls served low into the box. Simeone’s men will have prepared for this during the week, something Hancko alluded to during the media event.
The Slovakian called the derby a “huge challenge for me personally,” adding that the derby is coming at a difficult moment because of the volume of games the team has played over the past two weeks. Still, he reiterated that the squad has been fully focused on preparing well for the match, shutting out the sense of occasion in an attempt to maximize performance.
Because of Atleti’s poor start to the season, there is no room for error. Despite being only 7 matchdays into the season, a slip up would all but eliminate Los Colchoneros from title contention. No team has ever recovered from a twelve point deficit, and the chances of doing so against an undefeated Real Madrid and a rampant Barcelona are almost nonexistent.
Slovakian defender David Hancko holds up his new jersey during his official presentation as new player of Atletico de Madrid at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on July 31, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
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Still, Hancko is quietly confident about the match. Results may not have been what the club as expecting, but Atleti has missed plenty of chances already this season. If players like Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth begin converting, the club could find a a rich vein of form.
Hancko says “I’m really proud that I can be part of this game,” adding that it’s all a bit surreal since it’s the type of match he grew up watching on TV as a kid. The Slovakian has been on of Atletico’s best players this season and will surely be in the starting XI either at center-back to deal with Mbappe, or at left-back to help limit the incursions of Mastantuono and Arda Guler.
Alex Baena is back from his appendicitis and Simeone did not rule out a possible start for the Spaniard. Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann are expected to form the frontline duo, but questions remain over the midfield. Will American international Johnny Cardoso get a start? Will Koke be able to play another 90 minutes after playing midweek? Or, will Conor Gallagher get a start alongside Pablo Barrios, Marcos Llorente, and Giuliano Simeone.
The past three Madrid derbies have ended 1-1, but with form so different between the teams this match could go in any direction. Real Madrid will want local bragging rights and to extend its lead in the table. Atleti is fighting to keep it’s title hopes alive, in what has become an early do or die match for them.
Fans in the U.S. can watch the game live on ESPN+ at 10:15 am EDT and while fans in the U.K. can enjoy the game at 3:15 pm GMT (during the Premier League blackout) on Disney+.
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