RM Castilla 3-2 Atlético Madrileño | A nail-biting finish seals a Real win | OneFootball

A scoreline that kept swinging both ways until Daniel Yáñez settled it

Real Madrid Castilla claimed a hard-fought, dramatic win over Atlético Madrileño in a mini-derby packed with twists, VAR interventions, and maximum tension until the final whistle. After an evenly matched first half that ended level thanks to goals from Carvajal and Yaakobishvili, the second half unleashed a rollercoaster of emotions that began with two consecutive penalties. Yáñez’s superb strike then put the Madrid reserve side back in front, though they still had to withstand a late Atlético siege in stoppage time to secure three priceless points.

First half: an unexpected scoreline

The opening half of the mini-derby between Real Madrid Castilla and Atlético Madrileño began at full intensity from the very first whistle. The Madrid reserve side struck first in the 9th minute thanks to a brilliant individual move from Ángel Carvajal, who beat Ander Astralaga with a low, angled finish to open the scoring. After the home side’s goal, the red-and-white team responded with long spells of possession and attacks down the flanks, creating danger through efforts from Thiago Helguera and Miguel Cubo that forced both the Madrid back line and Sergio Mestre into serious action.

As the minutes passed, the match entered a constant end-to-end phase in which Astralaga emerged as the visitors’ main pillar. The Atlético goalkeeper prevented the Merengues from extending their lead by pulling off a superb save to deny a well-placed effort toward the far post from Daniel Yáñez in the 41st minute, and then intervened again two minutes later to parry a low drive from Thiago Pitarch inside the box. Meanwhile, the red-and-white defense had to work overtime to contain the runs of Jesús Fortea and Álvaro Leiva in a scrappy contest that produced the game’s first bookings for David García and Fortea himself.

Ángel Carvajal celebrating the goal that opened the scoring. Source: Real Madrid

Just when it looked as though Castilla would head into the dressing room in front, the match produced a truly heart-stopping finish during the five minutes of added time. In the first minute of stoppage time, Antal Yaakobishvili tried his luck from a huge distance, and his shot took a deflection off Mario Rivas and wrong-footed Mestre to restore parity. With no time to recover from the blow, the home side were then saved from conceding a second when a thunderous long-range strike from David García smashed straight against the post, sending both teams into the break after a breathless first half.

Second half: VAR takes center stage

The second half began at a frantic pace, with VAR review playing a decisive role. After early warnings from Carvajal and Rivas, tension exploded in the 55th minute when Diego Aguado went down inside the area following a tug by Kamate; after reviewing the incident on the monitor at the request of the bench, the referee upheld the penalty, and Aguado himself converted for 2-1 in the 61st minute with a precise angled finish. The Merengues’ joy was short-lived, however, because barely two minutes later Aguado tripped Cubo and another penalty was awarded at the other end. Although Mestre guessed Cubo’s intentions from the spot, the recently introduced Koke Mota pounced on the rebound and volleyed the ball into the net in the 66th minute to level the score once again.

The match then turned into a real whirlwind of momentum swings and heavy physical demands. Castilla went back in front in the 71st minute through a moment of top-class quality from Yáñez, who cut inside from the edge of the box and curled an elegant right-footed shot into the far corner to make it 3-2. Atlético Madrileño pushed hard in search of an equalizer and forced Mestre into a brilliant low save after a superb individual move from Cubo, while changes kept coming from the benches, with players such as Pol Fortuny, Alexis Ciria and Roberto Martín entering for the home side, and Álvaro Vega and Martín Cuéllar for the visitors.

Daniel Yáñez celebrating the goal that gave his team the victory. Source: Real Madrid

The closing stretch and the ten minutes of stoppage time added by the officials delivered a barrage of edge-of-your-seat drama. In the 90+8th minute, the referee eventually ruled out a Ciria goal for offside that would have sealed the win for the Whites, giving the Atlético reserve side hope for one last desperate push. In the 90+11th minute, with Astralaga up for the set piece, Jorge Castillo had the equalizer at his feet after controlling the ball at the back post, but his powerful effort crashed off the crossbar. After that final heart-stopping moment, the referee blew for full time in the 90+12th minute, confirming a hard-earned win for Castilla in a frantic derby.

Match sheet

RM Castilla: Sergio Mestre; Jesús Fortea, Oscar Naasei, Mario Rivas, Diego Aguado (Á. Lezcano, 76th min.); Jorge Cestero, T. Pitarch, S. Martínez (Roberto Martín, 76th min.); Daniel Yáñez (Pol Fortuny, 80th min.), Ángel Carvajal (Rachad Fettal, 83rd min.), Álvaro Leiva (Alexis Ciria, 76th min.)

Atlético Madrileño: A. Astralaga; Sergio Díez (R. Hueso, 73rd min.), Antal, Pablo Pan, Arnau Solà; Edgar Alcañiz (Koke Mota, 62nd min.), Thiago Helguera (Jorge Castillo, 62nd min.), Álvaro Justo (Álvaro Vega, 86th min.); Issiaka Kamate (M. Cuéllar, 86th min.), Miguel Cubo, D. García

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.