Atlético Madrid won the derby against Real Madrid (2-1) at the Metropolitano. But beyond the result, it was above all the post-match that extended the debate, with José Mourinho placing the refereeing at the center of his press conference, while Diego Simeone chose to respond on the theme of respect.
Mourinho pulls out the A4 sheet
José Mourinho did not wait for the questions to enter the debate. At the post-match press conference, the Real Madrid coach arrived with an A4 sheet on which were printed images of two incidents that he considers should have resulted in red cards for Atlético.
The first involves Cristian Romero and Jude Bellingham. In the 35th minute, the Atlético defender caught the Englishman's knee with his studs. After a VAR review, the yellow card given to Bellingham was withdrawn, while Romero's was confirmed.
The second incident involves Lee Kang-in and Federico Valverde. The South Korean caught the left ankle of the Madrid midfielder with his studs. The referee did not sanction the challenge with a card and VAR did not intervene. For Mourinho, both situations warranted a sending-off.
'We could skip the conference because the story of the match is right here,' said the Portuguese coach, showing the two images.
He then defended the idea of simple refereeing errors, comparing them to the mistakes that coaches and players themselves can make.
A controversy that takes on another dimension
The second incident, however, takes on particular significance after the match. Federico Valverde finished the derby, but the Uruguayan midfielder is suffering from a severe injury to his left ankle following the contact with Lee Kang-in. Real Madrid still need to determine precisely how serious the injury is and how long he will be out.
This situation inevitably heightens Madrid's frustration over an incident that Mourinho already considered serious enough to justify a red card. Lee Kang-in's unpunished challenge thus became one of the main talking points of the derby.
Mourinho also admitted that he had not yet analyzed in enough detail the incident that led to Dean Huijsen's sending-off and the penalty awarded to Atlético. The Portuguese coach focused his remarks mainly on the two situations he had chosen to present to the media.
Simeone calls for respect
Diego Simeone took a completely different approach. The Atlético coach did not want to turn his press conference into a new chapter of the refereeing controversy. Instead, he called for respect between coaches and towards referees.
'We must know how to respect others, the referees, our colleagues, otherwise we all lose,' explained the Argentine.
On the pitch, Simeone mainly praised his team's collective performance. Atlético managed to stay organized, handle Madrid's transitions, and make the most of their numerical advantage after Huijsen's dismissal.
A derby that turns after the break
Real Madrid ultimately played a large part of the second half with ten men after Dean Huijsen's sending-off. The Madrid defender was sanctioned, following a VAR review, for a foul on Giuliano Simeone inside the box. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the penalty before Jonathan David doubled Atlético's lead.
Antonio Rüdiger narrowed the gap in the 89th minute, but Real could not come back. Atlético thus won 2-1, inflicting on Real Madrid their second defeat of the season in Liga.
In the standings, Atlético climb to 2nd place with 16 points, five behind FC Barcelona. Real Madrid remain 3rd with 15 points.
A derby ultimately told through three images: the A4 sheet held up by Mourinho, Simeone's response in the name of respect, and Valverde's ankle, now under close watch.
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