By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
Not so long ago, Real Madrid ruled the roost in this fixture. For a period of almost 14 years, Atletico simply could not win a derby, but Diego Simeone's side have now emerged victorious in four of the last six - and the Rojiblancos exposed Madrid's soft centre in what was a brutal beating on Saturday.
Madrid may have been missing some of their first-choice players, but the Liga leaders still boasted a side assembled at a far greater cost than that of the home team - and they also welcomed back Cristiano Ronaldo from his recent suspension.
As he awaited news of his ban, the Portuguese told friends he was desperate to feature in this match - but he may have wished he had sat it out altogether after another wretched performance against Simeone's side.
Ronaldo has planned a big birthday bash in the Spanish capital to mark his 30th on Saturday night, but he is unlikely to be in much of a party mood after this match.
In the build-up to the game, former Madrid defender Paco Pavon told Goal that Ancelotti would try something different after recent derby disappointments and warned his former side to beware the ghosts of previous meetings, especially if Atletico scored first.
His words turned out to be almost premonitory in the end and whatever it was Ancelotti did try, it certainly did not work.
Sami Khedira surprisingly started in midfield despite his terrible form in recent games, while the 'BBC' trident formed by Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano was maintained by Ancelotti, even though it had seemed clear the visitors would need more bite and competition in midfield - especially as first-choice centre-backs Pepe and Sergio Ramos were both unavailable.
As it was, Atleti bullied their local rivals from start to finish. Iker Casillas flapped meekly at Tiago's shot as the home team took the lead, but the Spain goalkeeper was also left exposed by poor defending from those in front of him as Madrid's makeshift defence failed to clear.
Unlike in the Champions League final in Lisbon, there was no Ramos to bail out Casillas this time. But Madrid's problems ran much deeper anyway.
Dani Carvajal's improvement in recent times has been lauded, but the Madrid right-back was woeful in this one, beaten by Guilherme Siqueira in the lead-up to Atleti's second, caught out of position and beaten physically by Saul before Antoine Griezmann made it 3-0 and stuck in no-man's land again as Mario Mandzukic headed home the fourth.
Raphael Varane, described as the best defender in the world by Jose Mourinho on Friday, was also at fault for both of those goals as he was beaten for strength by Griezmann at the far post for the third and then allowed Mandzukic a free run to net the fourth.
"It was a terrible match - the worst," Ancelotti said afterwards. "Atletico deserved to win because they beat us in every aspect: in fight, intensity, the play itself, everything. We will have to look at why it happened over the coming days."
He was right. Wherever you looked, it was a shambles from Madrid's point of view and Simeone - as usual - had clearly done his homework ahead of this match.
"It wouldn't be fair to comment on what happened to our rival," Simeone said. "We did what we had trained to do. My players exectued it perfectly." That they did, though Madrid's mediocrity helped as well.
Amid Atleti's derby drought between 1999 and 2013, it often looked like the Rojiblancos would never beat their rivals ever again. But unless they make some serious changes to their approach in this fixture going forward, it is now Madrid facing a barren spell in the capital clash.
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