By Abiodun Adewale Adeniyi | Founder & Editor, Beyond the Final Whistle
September 21, 2026 | La Liga
Atlético Madrid won the derby. But by the time José Mourinho arrived for his post-match press conference carrying printed photographs of two controversial tackles, the scoreline was no longer the biggest story in Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s side defeated Real Madrid 2–1 at the Metropolitano on Sunday, with Alejandro Grimaldo converting a second-half penalty before Jonathan David doubled Atlético’s advantage six minutes later.
Antonio Rüdiger’s 89th-minute header gave Real Madrid hope, but Atlético held on for a victory that moved them above their city rivals into second place in La Liga.
Yet the derby will be remembered just as much for three refereeing decisions.
Cristian Romero’s challenge on Jude Bellingham. Lee Kang-in’s tackle on Federico Valverde. And Dean Huijsen’s second-half red card.
For Mourinho, those incidents changed everything.
Romero on Bellingham: Should Atlético Have Been Down to 10?
The first major controversy arrived in the 35th minute.
Bellingham and Romero contested the ball before the Atlético defender caught the England midfielder high with his studs.
Remarkably, referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias initially booked Bellingham.
VAR intervened.
After reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, Ortiz Arias cancelled Bellingham’s yellow card and instead booked Romero.
Real Madrid wanted more.
Mourinho and his players believed Romero should have been sent off.
Real Madrid’s own match report described the incident as one of two major refereeing errors that shaped the derby.
The controversy was intensified by what happened only minutes later.
Lee Kang-in's Challenge Leaves Valverde Injured
Shortly before half-time, Lee Kang-in challenged Federico Valverde from behind and caught the Real Madrid midfielder around his left ankle.
This time there was no red card.
There was not even a yellow.
Real Madrid’s players protested again, believing Lee should have been dismissed.
Unlike the Romero incident, the referee was not sent to the monitor for an on-field review.
The consequences extended beyond the match.
Real Madrid later confirmed Valverde had suffered severe trauma to his left ankle and would undergo further medical assessment.
For Mourinho, that was another reason to question why Atlético still had 11 players on the pitch.
The teams nevertheless went into half-time at 0–0.
Then the derby exploded.
Huijsen Red Card Changes the Match
Five minutes after the restart, Giuliano Simeone raced behind Real Madrid’s defence chasing a long ball.
Dean Huijsen brought him down inside the penalty area.
Ortiz Arias awarded Atlético a penalty and initially showed Huijsen a yellow card.
Then VAR intervened again.
After reviewing the incident on the monitor, the referee upgraded Huijsen’s punishment to a straight red card, reducing Real Madrid to 10 men.
Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty in the 53rd minute.
Six minutes later, Atlético struck again.
Giuliano Simeone attacked down the right and delivered a low ball into the area, where Jonathan David finished to make it 2–0.
Suddenly Real Madrid were two goals behind and playing with 10 men.
For Mourinho, the contrast was impossible to ignore.
His defender had been dismissed following VAR intervention, while he believed two Atlético players should already have been sent off during the first half.
Mourinho Arrives With the Evidence
Then came the image that may define the aftermath of this derby.
Mourinho entered his post-match press conference carrying a sheet of paper containing photographs of the Romero-Bellingham and Lee-Valverde incidents.
He argued both should have resulted in red cards.
Mourinho said Real’s difficulties after Huijsen’s dismissal were obvious, but asked observers to imagine what the game might have looked like had Atlético been reduced to nine men earlier.
He also criticised the appointment and performance of referee Ortiz Arias.
However, Mourinho stopped short of explicitly alleging that the match had been deliberately manipulated, saying he wanted to believe mistakes had been made.
That distinction matters.
There is a significant difference between arguing that officials made serious errors and claiming that a match was intentionally influenced.
The evidence supports the first as Mourinho’s position; it does not establish the second.
Simeone Responds to Mourinho
Diego Simeone understandably saw things differently.
The Atlético coach urged managers to remain respectful when discussing officials, arguing that public criticism should not cross certain boundaries.
More importantly, Simeone did not want Atlético’s performance to disappear beneath the refereeing debate.
He argued that his team had controlled significant periods of the derby both before and after Real Madrid were reduced to 10 players.
And there is evidence supporting that side of the argument.
Atlético created the clearer attacking threat after half-time and nearly scored a third when Courtois denied Romero before Ibrahima Konaté blocked Julián Álvarez’s follow-up.
Rüdiger eventually pulled one back in the 89th minute, but Atlético survived the late pressure.
Did the Referee Decide the Madrid Derby?
This is where the debate becomes more complicated.
Real Madrid have legitimate grounds to question the consistency of the decisions.
VAR intervened on the Romero incident but the punishment remained yellow.
There was no dismissal following Lee’s challenge on Valverde.
Then, shortly after half-time, VAR intervention resulted in Huijsen’s yellow being upgraded to red.
Those decisions inevitably shaped the circumstances in which the second half was played.
But acknowledging that does not require pretending Atlético did nothing to earn the victory.
Simeone’s team still had to convert the penalty.
They still had to exploit their numerical advantage.
And they still had to defend their lead when Rüdiger’s late goal gave Madrid hope.
That distinction is important when analysing controversial matches.
Refereeing decisions can dramatically influence a game without automatically explaining every tactical and technical reason one team wins.
A Huge Result in the La Liga Title Race
The result also matters beyond Madrid.
Atlético moved to 16 points, one ahead of Real Madrid and Real Betis, although Barcelona remain five points clear at the top after winning their opening seven league matches.
That makes Real Madrid’s defeat particularly damaging.
Barcelona’s extraordinary start has already increased the pressure on their rivals, something we recently examined in our analysis of Barcelona’s record-breaking start under Hansi Flick.
And this derby result gives Atlético an opportunity to become a more significant part of a title conversation that had largely centred on Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Our preseason analysis asked whether the 2026/27 La Liga title race would again be dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atlético have now delivered their strongest argument that they should not be ignored.
The Controversy Will Continue
The final whistle did not end this derby.
If anything, it started another match — one involving refereeing decisions, VAR interpretations and competing versions of what happened at the Metropolitano.
Real Madrid believe two Atlético players escaped red cards.
Mourinho made that position unmistakably clear.
Atlético believe their performance deserves greater recognition than the controversy surrounding the officials.
Simeone made that equally clear.
Both stories can exist at the same time.
Atlético Madrid won the derby.
But the refereeing decisions will remain part of the discussion surrounding how they won it.
Beyond the Final Whistle, the Madrid derby demonstrated once again how a handful of refereeing decisions can transform the story of an entire match. Atlético deserve credit for exploiting their advantage and securing a huge victory, but the contrasting treatment of the Romero, Lee and Huijsen incidents ensures that the 2–1 result will be debated long after the final whistle.
Were Real Madrid right to feel the refereeing changed the derby, or did Atlético Madrid simply make better use of the decisive moments? Join the conversation on Beyond the Final Whistle.
