Arbeloa won his first Madrid derby shortly after having eliminated Mourinho and Guardiola’s teams

Until a few days ago, his own fans doubted him and the team. Discontent erupted from the stands. There were obvious whistles. In a couple of weeks, the story completely changed.

After eliminating the teams of José Mourinho (Benfica) and Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) in the UEFA Champions League, coach Álvaro Arbeloa gave himself another great pleasure. The technician real Madrid won his first derby against Atlético de Madriddirected by another of the greats, Diego Simeone.

“It’s clear that it hasn’t been easy, because we had a great team in front of us, which made it difficult for us, we had to show a very strong mentality. Because after 2-2, we had to push again,” Arbeloa declared after the game.

Regarding the meaning of the classic, the Madrid coach said: “It has been exciting, very exciting. I always say that the atmosphere in the derbies is the most special in the League. Today I have had to experience it as a coach and also, after several years in which we were unable to beat Atlético de Madrid on our field. It was important to do so. Happy for the boys, because they deserve this victory.”

In this sense, Merengue had not beaten Aleti at the Bernabéu, within the framework of LaLiga, since 2021, when they won 2-0. Since then there had been 3 draws with the same score: 1-1.

For Arbeloa, Valverde’s expulsion was “difficult to understand”

Regarding the expulsion of Federico Valverde, who had scored another goal and appeared in a state of grace, Arbeloa was very dissatisfied, although he appreciated the explanation from referee José Luis Munuera Montero.

“It was difficult to understand,” said the Merengue coach regarding the red card for the Uruguayan. “I thank him (Munuera Montero) for coming to the sideline to explain to me. Sometimes, live, the plays seem like something that… then, when he sees it, I imagine he may change his mind,” he said.