Emotional Simeone Praises Collective Effort After Historic 5-2 Win Over Real Madrid Khaleej Times

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone hailed his team's faith and collective effort after their stunning 5-2 victory over Real Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday, a result that marked the first time in 75 years that Atletico had scored five goals against their city rivals.

"Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the world, and today we had to play a great game," Simeone told reporters.

"From the start, we knew where we could do damage, with breaks on the outside with Nico (Gonzalez), (Pablo) Barrios, Julian (Alvarez), Giuliano (Simeone)... pulling the centre-backs out and leaving (Alexander) Sorloth inside to create chances. I think that, beyond their two goals, the team did well."

Atletico had managed just one victory in their first six matches across all competitions and Simeone, now in his 14th season with the club, acknowledged the emotional weight of the result, shedding tears of joy on the bench in the final minutes.

"There are a lot of emotions inside," he said. "The season started off difficult and there's a lot of effort from a lot of people that you don't see, and it's been wonderful."

Simeone praised his side's approach, saying: "The collective work and the faith to do what we wanted to do stood out. We interpreted the match well, and our fans are very happy because we won against a great rival that conceded few goals."

The Argentine also singled out Alvarez, who scored twice and played a pivotal role in the victory, saying: "Julian is committed to the team, to the club, and he is very good. He has talent and works hard. He not only contributes offensively but he also works hard and is committed to the team to create good dynamics. We need him, we have to take care of him, and hopefully he can stay with the club for many years."

The thrilling encounter at a raucous Metropolitano stadium, with nearly 70,000 fans on the edge of their seats, saw Atletico fight back from 2-1 down to claim a memorable victory that lifted them to fourth place with 12 points. Real Madrid remain atop LaLiga on 18 points, two ahead of Barcelona who have a game in hand.

Atletico's aggressive start paid off when Robin Le Normand opened the scoring with a header in the 14th minute, but Kylian Mbappe burst through to level with an unstoppable strike from close range in a quick counter in the 25th minute, with Arda Guller netting a volley from a Vinicius Jr cross 11 minutes later to put the visitors in front.

Alexander Sorloth's header in added time before the break gave Atletico a boost and they regained the lead five minutes into the second half when Alvarez converted a penalty after Guler's high boot clipped rival Nico Gonzalez on the face inside the box.

After Alvarez extended their lead in the 64th minute with a sublime free kick into the top corner, substitute Antoine Griezmann sealed the win in a quick counter in added time that set the Metropolitano on fire, with the crowd jumping and singing in ecstasy.

Real Madrid, who had conceded only three goals in six wins in their first six league matches, were humbled by much superior rivals who dominated the game and exploited a glaring weakness against the high balls, as Atletico ́s first two goals came from crosses.

"It was a bad loss and we must learn from it," Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso told a press conference. "We were not good enough, made too many mistakes but it's one of those losses that came be helpful moving forward. It is still early in the season and there is a lot ahead of us."

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