After Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid, José Mourinho proved two fouls in a match at the Metropolitano in a press conference and considered them to be enough for the sending off of both players.
Mourinho showed pictures of two fouls made by Romero and Lee Kang-in on Real Madrid players Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde. José Mourinho questioned why Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in remained on the pitch following challenges on Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde. Real Madrid played with 10 players after Dean Huijsen received a red card which led to the first goal from the penalty spot.
Mourinho Disputes Two First-Half Decisions
Presenting images of the challenges to journalists, Mourinho made clear that he considered the decisions central to the result.
“We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” he said.
“Those were two clear red cards.”
Mourinho argued that playing against nine men would have created a very different contest from the one Real Madrid faced after Huijsen’s dismissal.
Huijsen Dismissal Gives Atlético the Advantage
The second half had a huge turn when Huijsen was sent off after he brought down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area.
Alejandro Grimaldo scored the penalty to put Atlético ahead, before Jonathan David doubled the lead. Antonio Rüdiger later headed in a free-kick to reduce the deficit, but Real Madrid could not find an equalizer.
Real Madrid Support Mourinho’s Complaints
Real Madrid’s official match report also criticized the officiating, identifying the same two first-half incidents.
According to the club’s account, Ortiz Arias initially booked Bellingham following his collision with Romero in the 35th minute. After a pitch side review, the referee cancelled Bellingham’s caution and instead showed Romero a yellow card.
The club also questioned the absence of a booking for Lee’s challenge on Valverde nine minutes later, arguing that both decisions had influenced the match. These were Real Madrid’s assessments of the incidents, rather than an independent ruling on the referee’s performance.
Mourinho Questions Appointment as Simeone Urges Restraint
Mourinho also attacked the appointment of referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias. The Spanish ref had not had a game of such magnitude before, and therefore was not up to the test, according to the Portuguese coach. In the first part of the match his team played very well, he said.
This loss leaves Real Madrid six points behind Barcelona, where Simeone urged coaches to remain respectful when talking about officials.
Publisher
The BW Game Hub Sports Analysis Unit covers major European leagues, international competitions and the global transfer market. Our reporting combines official club announcements, competition data, established news agencies and football-statistics providers. Transfer stories are checked against primary club sources wherever available, while statistical analysis uses recognised data sources such as Opta, FBref, league databases and official competition records. Where information has not been officially confirmed, BW Game Hub clearly identifies it as reported rather than confirmed.
Ball possession
69% 31%
Goal attempts
11 2
Shots on target
8 2
Corners
3 0
Atletico Madrid
Statistics
Real Madrid
- 3 Corners 0
- 1 Shots off target 0
- 11 Goal attempts 2
- 8 Shots on target 2
- 9 Fouls 3
- 69% Ball possession 31%
- 2 Goals 1
- 617 Total passes 393
- 55 Dangerous attacks 36
- 114 Attacks 84
- 5 Substitutions 4
- 1 Assists 1
- 0 Treatments 0
- 2 Counter attacks 2
- 7 Throws in 8
- 1 Goal kicks 2
- 4 Free kicks 9
- 1 Saves 5
- 0 Offsides 1
- 0 Red cards 1
- 0 Yellow cards 2
Match facts last updated
Atletico Madrid
2 - 1
Full time
Real Madrid
- 6' Diego Simeone Yellow card Atl
- 35' Marc Pubill Yellow card Atl
- 38' Cristian Romero Yellow card Atl
- 46' On: Koke Off: Marc Pubill Substitution Atl
- 49' Denzel Dumfries Yellow card Rea
- 52' Dean Huijsen Red card Rea
- 53' Alex Grimaldo Penalty 1 - 0 Atl
- 54' On: Yan Diomande Off: Vinicius Junior Substitution Rea
- 54' On: Antonio Ruediger Off: Arda Guler Substitution Rea
- 59' Jonathan David Goal 2 - 0 Atl
- 62' On: Julian Alvarez Off: Jonathan David Substitution Atl
- 67' On: Ademola Lookman Off: Alejandro Baena Substitution Atl
- 71' On: Eduardo Camavinga Off: Aurelien Tchouameni Substitution Rea
- 78' Jude Bellingham Yellow card Rea
- 82' On: Bernardo Silva Off: Jude Bellingham Substitution Rea
- 89' Antonio Ruediger Goal 2 - 1 Rea
- 89' On: Robin Le Normand Off: Cristian Romero Substitution Atl
- 89' On: Morten Hjulmand Off: Kang-In Lee Substitution Atl
Match facts last updated
- Goal
- Sub in
- Sub out
- Yellow card
Atletico Madrid
3-4-2-1
Manager: Diego Simeone
Real Madrid
4-2-3-1
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Atletico Madrid
Bench
- 1 Juan Musso
- 24 Robin Le Normand
- 30 Daniel Martinez
- 3 Obed Vargas
- 4 Rodrigo Mendoza
- 6 Koke
- 23 Morten Hjulmand
- 11 Ademola Lookman
- 16 Arnau Ortiz
- 19 Julian Alvarez
- 46 Jorge Castillo
- 27 Jorge Dominguez
Unavailable
- 9 Alexander Soerloth
- 8 Pablo Barrios
Real Madrid
Bench
- 13 Andriy Lunin
- 2 Raul Asencio
- 6 Eduardo Camavinga
- 9 Endrick
- 12 Trent Alexander-Arnold
- 18 Alvaro Carreras
- 19 Carlos Espi
- 20 Bernardo Silva
- 21 Brahim Diaz
- 22 Antonio Ruediger
- 25 Yan Diomande
- 27 Thiago Pitarch
Unavailable
- 3 Eder Militao
- 23 Ferland Mendy
- 11 Rodrygo
Match facts last updated
Recent form
Last 5 in Primera Division, newest right
Atletico Madrid
- Win
- Loss
- Win
- Win
- Win
Real Madrid
- Win
- Loss
- Win
- Win
- Loss
Last 11 meetings
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
4
Atletico Madrid wins
36%
4
Draws
36%
3
Real Madrid wins
27%
Goals scored
Atletico Madrid21 Real Madrid16
Biggest win · Atletico Madrid
5 - 2
Primera Division
Biggest win · Real Madrid
3 - 2
Primera Division
Totals cover the meetings listed below, which is what the provider returns for this fixture — not the clubs’ full record against each other.
Meetings
-
Primera Division A
Atletico Madrid 2 - 3 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division H
Atletico Madrid 5 - 2 Real Madrid
-
UEFA Champions League H
Atletico Madrid 1 - 0 Real Madrid
-
UEFA Champions League A
Atletico Madrid 1 - 2 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division A
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division H
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division A
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Real Madrid
-
Copa Del Rey H
Atletico Madrid 4 - 2 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division H
Atletico Madrid 3 - 1 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division A
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Real Madrid
-
Primera Division H
Atletico Madrid 1 - 2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid on the left in every row, Real Madrid on the right, whoever hosted. H and A mark where each meeting was played.
Match facts last updated
