Rival Watch: Atletico hammer Real Madrid in wild derby in boost for Barcelona

Barcelona could move top of the table in Spain on Sunday if they beat Real Sociedad at Montjuic in their latest La Liga fixture.

Hansi Flick’s side have been given a glimpse of top spot after Real Madrid were beaten 5-2 by Atletico in a wild Madrid derby on Saturday afternoon.

Los Blancos went 2-1 up in the game, and looked set for victory after Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler responded to Robin Le Normand’s opener, but then pretty much fell apart.

Joan Laporta’s favorite Julian Alvarez scored twice to put Atletico in control, while former Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann finished Madrid off in stoppage time.

Xabi Alonso admitted it was a tough one for his team to take when he addressed the media after the game.

“It was a bad game, we didn’t play well either collectively or under pressure, we weren’t at the level we should have been,” he said.

“We’re in a building phase, today is our first defeat and we have to draw conclusions from what happened but there are no excuses, we’re hurt, it’s a derby and a deserved defeat. We weren’t on our game, we were lacking a gear and the defeat hurts.”

The result means Barcelona are now just two points behind Madrid but have a game in hand and will move one point clear if they beat La Real tomorrow.

It’s still only early days in the title race of course but, after a tough week on the injury front for Barca, the Madrid derby result will provide Hansi Flick’s side with added motivation ahead of their next game.