Derby delight for Zidane after ending Atletico Madrid's unbeaten run

Real Madrid’s resurgence continued on Saturday by defeating La Liga leaders and city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane expressed his joy at ending Atletico Madrid’s 26-match unbeaten run in La Liga and paid tribute to the commitment shown by his squad.

Real Madrid won the derby on Saturday evening to make it three wins in a row across all competitions. Casemiro’s header handed them an early lead before a Jan Oblak own goal sealed a stellar 2-0 victory.

The reigning Spanish champions were good for value in their latest win and the midfield trio of Luka Modric, Casemiro, and Toni Kroos looked particularly sharp.

“We produced a brilliant performance from start to finish, especially when you consider that they on a 26-game unbeaten run,” said Zidane in his post-match conference on his reaction towards the game.

“We put in an excellent performance, pressed high up, hounded them, and we kept the tempo up in the second half. What the players did out there tonight against that opposition means a great deal to me as the coach.”

After a winless run of three games (D1 L2), which initially raised doubts over manager Zidane’s own future, Real Madrid have responded with three successive victories and not one goal conceded either.

“It’s been a good week, with three great wins,” continued Zidane.

“I’m thrilled for the players because they have fought for it. They’re the ones who go out on the pitch. They always believe in what they do and when you pull it off it’s a great feeling.

“Now we have to keep it up, rest up, and we play again on Tuesday, so there’s not much time. We’re going to enjoy today, but we have a game on Tuesday and we have to think about that now.”

Los Blancos, who sit third in La Liga on 23 points from 12 games, will next welcome Athletic Club to the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium for another league game on Tuesday night.