MADRID, March 22 (Reuters) - Vinicius Jr scored twice as Real Madrid fought back to beat visitors Atletico Madrid 3-2 in a breathless Spanish capital derby on Sunday, keeping Alvaro Arbeloa's side within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
Billed as a relatively low-key Madrid derby, with Atletico sitting a distant fourth in the table, the match instead delivered a five-goal spectacle between the rivals.
It had everything — stunning goals from both sides and a straight red card to Real captain Federico Valverde that reduced the hosts to 10 men in the dying minutes.
Atletico's Ademola Lookman opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, finishing a slick counter-attack involving Matteo Ruggeri and a delightful backheel from Giuliano Simeone.
Vinicius equalised from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute after David Hancko clumsily tripped Brahim Diaz, and Valverde capitalised on a Jose Maria Gimenez error three minutes later to make it 2-1 to Real.
Nahuel Molina silenced Real's Bernabeu stadium with a thunderous 30-metre strike in the 66th minute, but Vinicius restored Real's lead with a cracking solo effort six minutes later.
Valverde then saw red for an inexplicable challenge on Alex Baena, and Julian Alvarez struck the post as Atletico pressed, but Real held firm.
'IN CONTROL FROM THE START'
"Real Madrid always come out on top," Vinicius told Real Madrid TV.
"I'm very pleased with the performance we put in today. We were in control from the start; we conceded a goal, but we kept our cool and did what we had to do so our fans could go home happy with another win."
Atletico's disappointing league campaign contrasts starkly with their Copa del Rey form, where they will face Real Sociedad in next month's final after knocking Barcelona out in the semis. They also face Barca in the Champions League quarter-finals in a fortnight, after the international break.
They gave Real a proper fight, pressing until the final whistle of a hugely entertaining contest.
Real almost took the lead inside three minutes when Vinicius made a fabulous solo run from the left and was denied by a great save from Juan Musso, while Valverde hit the post after another fantastic run a few minutes later.
Giuliano Simeone made a selfless goal-line clearance to deny Vinicius from point-blank range inside the six-yard box in the 20th minute, blocking the Brazilian's effort twice.
REAL PAY FOR WASTEFULNESS
Real paid dearly for their wastefulness when Atletico opened the scoring through Lookman's counter in the 33rd minute.
Yet theyfound the equaliser seven minutes after the restart when Hancko lost his balance trying to dispossess Brahim inside the area, clumsily tripping the Moroccan to gift the hosts a penalty. Vinicius blasted it home to his left as Musso dived the wrong way.
Three minutes later Valverde gave Real the lead after a schoolboy error from centre back Gimenez, introduced at halftime to shore up the defence. The Uruguayan failed to deal with a routine pass, allowing Valverde to pounce on the loose ball, wrestle past the flailing defender and fire past Musso.
Just as Real appeared in full control, Atletico conjured an equaliser from nothing in the 66th minute. Right back Molina tried his luck from 30 metres and sent a thunderous strike arrowing into the top-left corner.
Vinicius took matters into his own hands six minutes later, cutting in diagonally from the left, dribbling past two opponents and unleashing an unstoppable shot just inside the far post.
Then came a bewildering twist when Valverde was flashed a straight red, but Real held firm to claim all three points.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Toby Davis)
