It's not often Real Madrid get painted as the good guys, but Sunday's derby clash with Atletico was one of those few occasions.
As Carlo Ancelotti's Los Blancos left the Civitas Metropolitano with a 2-1 win, there was little doubt that they were the better side on the day.
But, strangely for a fixture of such magnitude, the actual football was sadly almost a sideshow as Spanish football's racism problem reared its head once again.
Through no fault of his own, Vinicius Junior had been the chief focus in the build-up after Pedro Bravo, an agent who appears on Spanish football show El Chiringuito, made a racially insensitive comment while on TV.
Referencing Vinicius' harmless tendency to celebrate goals with a little dance, Bravo suggested the Brazilian should "respect your mates and stop playing the monkey", comments that unsurprisingly drew criticism from all over the football world.
It was heart-warming to see how many people rallied around Vinicius in the wake of Bravo's ridiculous outburst. Many of his international team-mates and Brazil great Pele issued messages of support urging him to dance on.
Vinicius himself made a statement vowing to keep dancing, and Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus dedicated a similar celebration to his colleague earlier on Sunday.
That should have been the end of all the pointless debating about whether the celebration is disrespectful or not (it clearly isn't), but unfortunately it wasn't.
As Atletico 'ultras' queued on their way into the stadium before kick-off, offensive chants targeting Vinicius were being sung by hundreds of fans. Not a few, hundreds, and video footage brought the scenes to attention on social media.
What makes those chants even more disappointing is that few would've been hugely surprised. Atletico ultras have a history of disgracing their club. In 2018, 30 of them were apprehended in Bruges for making Nazi gestures, according to Marca; and as recently as April, they were hit with a partial stadium closure in the Champions League due to similar behaviour from fans against Manchester City.
Ultra group Frente Atletico were banned from the club's old stadium the Vicente Calderon in 2014 after clashes with Deportivo La Coruna fans led to the death of 'Jimmy', a member of the latter's Riazor Blues, who was attacked and thrown into the Manzanares river.
Despite that ban, the group's attitudes were never completely banished, and Sunday's pre-match scenes were a grim reminder of Atletico's failure as a club to stamp out far-right ideologies within its fanbase.
Thankfully, though, Vinicius is a brave young man who wasn't about to suppress his personality and mentality to appease some Neanderthals.
As the pre-game chants foreshadowed, Vinicius' first touch was vociferously jeered by Atletico fans. But the Brazilian amusingly responded with the most extravagant six-yard pass he could think of, dragging the ball back with his right foot before flicking it back down the flank to Ferland Mendy with his left all in one motion. Essentially, it was as close to dancing as he could've got in that moment.
It wasn't long before he was dancing for real, though. Vinicius wasn't even involved in the goal, as Rodrygo produced an emphatic finish from Aurelien Tchouameni's gorgeous pass – the scorer then darted towards the corner flag and began to strut his stuff.
Vinicius was quickly on the scene, gyrating with extra exuberance as Atletico fans threw objects on to the pitch around the celebrating Madrid players, most of whom embraced the former Flamengo talent with greater vigour than they did Rodrygo.
There was no mistaking Vinicius' influence just after the half-hour mark, however. The winger left Marcos Llorente in his dust and darted into the left side of the penalty area before prodding an effort goalwards. It fell kindly to Federico Valverde, who smashed in from close range.
Atletico players dished out rough treatment to Vinicius, perhaps as you might have expected as their biggest attacking threat in the absence of Karim Benzema, though he continued to play his natural game, toying with Llorente on several occasions and even attempting an audacious rainbow flick over Axel Witsel, which certainly angered the home support.
In the end he never quite got the moment of personal jubilation many might've hoped he'd have, with Atletico spending much of the second half on top as they tried to produce a comeback.
But Mario Hermoso's shouldered late goal proved only a consolation as Atletico failed to rise to the occasion, with Madrid holding firm enough to continue the excellent start to their title defence.
The action, and even the result, won't be the post-match focus, however. The vile scenes from earlier in the day will be what this match is remembered for – Atletico's response to that is far more important than how they ultimately react to this defeat.
Nagelsmann impressed after biggest win of Germany tenure
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was impressed by his team after they inflicted a heavy 7-0 defeat on Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League.
The thumping win in Freiburg secured top spot for the Germans in Group A3, with Nagelsmann's side now five points clear of second-placed Netherlands with one game to go.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst netted two each, while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on target in the victory that was Germany's biggest win since Nagelsmann took charge in September 2023.
The former Bayern Munich manager, who replaced Hansi Flick, failed to take hosts Germany past the quarter-finals in the summer's Euros, but his side now have a chance of securing their first silverware under the 37-year-old.
"We have no injuries from the game and our counter-pressing was extraordinarily good," Nagelsmann said after the game.
"And then to score seven goals against an opponent sitting so deep is something.
"We wanted to win possession and then quickly play the ball forward, be quick in transition and find those runs, something we did not do often enough at the Euros [in June]. We did it well," he said.
Glenmuir outclass STETHS 5-2 to maintain daCosta Cup dominance; McGrath, Garvey Maceo, Ocho Rios also into semis
Glenmuir High continued their dominant march in the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup with an emphatic 5-2 victory over St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in their final Group A quarterfinal match on Saturday.
In a display of clinical finishing and cohesive play, Glenmuir, through goals from Orel Miller (12th), Conroy Nicely (32nd), Orane Watson (45th and 67th), and Ricardo Binns (90+1), overwhelmed their opponents at home in Santa Cruz to further solidify their status as title favourites. Justin McPherson (80th) and Shemmar Smith (83rd) got STETHS consolation.
The win saw Glenmuir finish atop the group with maximum nine points, five points ahead of McGrath High, who blanked Frome Technical 4-0 to also book a semi-final berth. They finished ahead of STETHS on goal difference after both ended on four points each.
Glenmuir’s Head coach, Andrew Peart, was again pleased with how his team went about business.
“Every game you play, you try not to concede but we can live with it. We were 4-0 up when we conceded so we can work on those. I thought today was one of the displays that you’re really proud of; at the start we weren’t really in control but we managed to settle and play our game and score some goals so again, I am really proud of them,” Peart said in a post-game interview.
Though a bit slow out the blocks, Glenmuir quickly gathered momentum and broke the deadlock inside 15 minutes when Miller capitalized on a perfectly weighted cross from Tajaun Cummings, rising above defenders to power a header into the net.
STETHS had a chance to respond shortly after but Deandre Barnett’s header struck the upright.
That was all STETHS would get at that point as Glenmuir extended their lead two minutes past the half-hour mark with a goal that showcased their set-piece prowess. A weighted corner kick from O’Neil Headly was cleverly flicked on by Dusting Cohen, allowing Nicely to tap in at the far post.
Watson added his name to the scoresheet just before halftime, when he slotted into an empty net after STETHS’ goalkeeper Johnoi Steadman advanced and failed to get a hand on Okeem Saunders’ perfectly measured cross. caused confusion in the STETHS defense, with misjudging the delivery as Glenmuir went 3-0 up at the interval.
Glenmuir maintained their attacking intensity at the restart, with Watson again proving troublesome.
In the 67th, Saunders once again played provider, delivering a precise pass that Watson controlled expertly before unleashing a powerful drive from the edge of the box. With that, his second goal of the game, Watson took his tally to 31 for the season, a testament to his exceptional form.
Despite trailing by four goals, STETHS showed resilience in the final 10 minutes. McPherson pulled one back in the 80th minute, finishing from close range to bring the home crowd to life.
Just three minutes later, McPherson turned provider, delivering a pinpoint cross that Stewart headed home for his fifth goal of the season.
However, Glenmuir had the final say as Binns found himself unmarked in the penalty area and easily headed home a perfectly floated cross from Cohen to complete the rout. It was Binns’ seventh goal of the season and a fitting end to a commanding performance.
STETHS’ Head coach Omar Wedderburn and his troops will now have to look to the Ben Francis Cup for redemption.
“We weren’t focused enough in the first half and three goals scored from the service. We tried to make some adjustments in the second half but it barely bore fruit but that’s how it is; it is a hard one to digest and we just have to do what we have to do,” he noted.
Saturday’s Results
Glenmuir 5, STETHS 2
McGrath 4, Frome Technical 0
Munro College 3, Central High 1
Ocho Rios 2, Garvey Maceo 0
Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Nagelsmann's side thump visitors to confirm top spot
Germany posted a commanding 7-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate fixture in Freiburg to secure top spot in Group A3 of the Nations League.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst scored two goals each while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on the scoresheet as the Germans posted their fourth win and maintained a five-point lead over the Netherlands in second place.
Julian Nagelsmann's side made a blistering start as Musiala headed home with just 78 seconds on the clock.
Borussia Monchengladbach striker Kleindienst then opened his account for Germany as Robert Andrich's effort deflected off him on its way into the goal in the 23rd minute.
Havertz ensured the hosts went into the interval with a three-goal lead, while Wirtz added two more, including a superb free-kick, before the clock struck the hour mark, effectively ending Bosnia's hopes of a comeback.
Sane joined the party in the 66th minute with Germany's sixth before Kleindienst sealed the victory with his second of the night, a close-range finish, 11 minutes later.
The hosts will wrap up their group stage campaign with a trip to Budapest to face Hungary on Tuesday, while Bosnia, sitting bottom with one point, will host group runners-up Netherlands.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
