Derbi day: everything points to the Metropolitano
Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid, LaLiga round 7, Sunday 20 September, Riyadh Air Metropolitano (3). Two points separate the two teams before kick-off. Atlético can overtake you with a win (4).
You sit second on 15 points from six games, three behind Barcelona. Atlético are fourth on 13 (3). Your form reads W L W W W, and the last two were 4–1 at home to Rayo Vallecano on 12 September and 3–2 away at Elche on 15 September. The loss was 1–0 away at Real Betis on 4 September.
Mourinho says the derby itself does not fire him up any more than any other game. "It motivates me every day," he said (6). He has won all six of his LaLiga derbies (6).
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Güler is the one carrying the play
Arda Güler goes into the Metropolitano as Madrid's guiding light (1). That is the framing around the trip, and it is the part of this Madrid team fans will be watching closest.
If you want the honest version of your own season, one source puts it this way: Madrid arrive at the decisive derby with more doubts than certainties, and a start of five wins and one defeat that looks better in the results column than it has on the pitch (1).
Mbappé, Konaté and Vinicius walk into a hostile ground
Kylian Mbappé, Ibrahima Konaté and Vinicius Jr play at the Metropolitano after days of the Ceuta T-shirt controversy (2). The away end is not going to be friendly, and that reception is one of the running themes around the match (2).
Pubill says the quiet part out loud
Atlético defender Pubill has no interest in playing it down. "Ganar el derbi sería un golpe en la mesa, seguro que lo haremos," he said, which means winning the derby would be a statement, and he is sure they will do it (5).
Ortiz Arias has the whistle
Ortiz Arias takes charge of the derby, an appointment that has its own thread of debate in Spain. The word on him is "estilo de barrio", and he is described as brave and with a temper, "Es valiente y con genio" (7). Recent Atlético vs Real Madrid games have run hot: rows, insults, flare-ups, matches stopped for objects thrown from the stands, red cards (7).
A first Supercopa de Europa in the cabinet
Real Madrid won the first Supercopa de Europa in the club's history (8). The women's team also beat Valencia (8).
Fan reactions
The biggest talking point in the fan threads is not the derby at all, it is the goalscoring pace at the very top of the league: fans are comparing the early-season scoring numbers against the only two players who have ever started a LaLiga season faster, one from Oviedo in 1943/44 and one from Real Madrid in 2014/15. Join the thread
