 |
| Yannick Carrasco of Atletico Madrid celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the La Liga Santander match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on May 8, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. |
Atletico Madrid took advantage of Carlo Ancelotti's decision to rotate as they edged out fierce rivals Real Madrid 1-0 to tighten their grip on fourth place in La Liga.
Four days on from their stunning comeback win over Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals, Madrid made seven changes for their trip to the Wanda Metropolitano.
That told as Madrid, who were crowned Spanish champions last week with four games to spare, fell behind to a 40th-minute Yannick Carrasco penalty that was awarded after a VAR check.
Despite the introduction of Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior, Madrid could not find a leveller in the absence of top scorer Karim Benzema as they fell to a rare El Derbi defeat.
Much was made of Atleti's decision to not give Madrid a guard of honour ahead of kick-off in their neighbours' first league outing since sealing a 35th league crown.
Having wrapped up the league title with time to spare, Real Madrid can afford to rest up their key men ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool on May 28.
Diego Simeone's side are now one point behind third-placed Sevilla, though more importantly they have a six-point advantage on Real Betis in fifth.
Jules Kounde scored deep into stoppage time as Sevilla escaped with a draw at Villarreal.
Rayo Vallecano mathematically secured their position in the first division with a 0-0 draw at Getafe.
Espanyol earlier drew 1-1 with Osasuna at home in a match between teams far from the relegation zone.
