BARCELONA: Only six weeks into La Liga and Atletico Madrid already faces what seems to be a must-win derby when it hosts Real Madrid on Saturday.
Despite revamping a significant part of the squad this summer, Atletico is off to its worst start – two wins in six matches – since coach Diego Simeone took over more than a decade ago. They take on their top rival well behind in the standings: Real Madrid leads the league and Atletico Madrid is eighth, nine points adrift.
Key matchups
Madrid is the only team to have won all six rounds. That run has been fueled by the prolific Kylian Mbappe.
The France striker has seven goals, three more than the next best scorer, and has failed to find the net only in one game. He scored twice on Tuesday, a 4-1 victory over Levante.
Atletico’s poor form comes after a busy summer in which it bought the likes of Villarreal playmaker Álex Baena, United States midfielder Johnny Cardoso, and defenders David Hancko and Matteo Ruggeri. Injuries to Baena and Cardoso, among others, have not helped Simeone.
It will be Xabi Alonso’s first Spanish capital derby as Madrid’s coach after he spent 2009-14 playing for the club.
Second-placed Barcelona hosts Real Sociedad on Sunday, a day after third-placed Villarreal welcomes Athletic Bilbao. Fourth-placed Espanyol visits Girona, which is winless at the bottom of the table, on Friday.
Players to watch
Atletico’s fortunes may hinge on Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, who is coming off a hat trick to help beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on Wednesday. That was his first treble since moving to Europe in 2022.
Madrid’s Vinicius Junior will be in the spotlight both for the reactions of Atletico’s fans, some of whom have subjected him among the worst racial abuse he has experienced, and because of speculation regarding his long-term future with the club.
Once a set starter under former coach Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius has seen his playing time reduced by Alonso. That comes amid media reports that his talks with Madrid about renewing his contract set to expire in June 2027 have broken down.
Atletico will also recover striker Alexander Sorloth, who often plays as a substitute, after his one-game suspension.
Out of action
Madrid will be without injured defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy.
Atletico will likely be without midfielder Thiago Almada and defender Jose Maria Gimenez due to injuries. Cardoso has missed three games with an ankle problem.
Mbappe is on a scoring run for Madrid before visiting Atletico in the capital derby
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Mbappe is on a scoring run for Madrid before visiting Atletico in the capital derby
- The France striker has seven goals, three more than the next best scorer, and has failed to find the net only in one game
History-chasing Djokovic and Alcaraz to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
- Carlos Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam
- Novak Djokovic is aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic finally beat one of the two men who have been blocking his path to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title when he edged Jannik Sinner in five sets Friday to reach the Australian Open final.
To get that coveted No. 25, he’ll next have to beat the other: top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
They’re both chasing history in Sunday’s championship decider, with the 22-year-old Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
The top-ranked Alcaraz also had to come through a grueling five-setter. He fended off No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in a match that started in the warmth of the afternoon Friday and, 5 hours and 27 minutes later, became the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open.
That pushed the start of Djokovic’s match against Sinner back a couple of hours, and the 38-year-old Djokovic finally finished off a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win just after 1:30 a.m.
“It feels surreal,” Djokovic said of his 4-hour, 9-minute triumph. “Honestly, it feels like winning already tonight. I know I have to come back … and fight the No. 1 of the world. I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him.
“That’s my desire. Let the God decide the winner.”
Djokovic was at the peak of his defensive powers, fending off 16 of the 18 breakpoints he faced against the two-time defending Australian Open champion. It ended a run of five losses to Sinner, and a run of four semifinal exits for Djokovic at the majors.
“Had many chances, couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome,” Sinner said. “Yeah, it hurts, for sure.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last eight major titles between them since Djokovic won his last title at the 2023 US Open.
Nobody knows how to win more at Melbourne Park than Djokovic. He has won all 10 times he’s contested the Australian Open final.
He said he saw Alcaraz after the first of the semifinals was over and he congratulated him on reaching his first final at Melbourne Park.
“He said sorry to delay,” Djokovic later explained. “I told him ‘I’m an old man, I need to go earlier to sleep!”
Djokovic, aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title, was kept up late.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him on Sunday,” he said.
Final 4
With the top four seeds reaching the Australian Open men’s semifinals for just the fifth time, Day 13 was destined to produce some drama. The season-opening major had been a relatively slow burn, until the back-to-back five-setters lasting a combined 9 hours and 36 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, surpassed the 2009 classic between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco as the longest ever Australian Open semifinal.
Medical timeout
Alcaraz was as close as two points from victory in the third set but was hampered by pain in his upper right leg and his medical timeout became contentious.
He said initially it didn’t feel like cramping because the pain seemed to be just in one muscle, the right adductor, and he needed an assessment.
He navigated the third and fourth sets and was behind in the fifth after dropping serve in the first game. He kept up the pressure but didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match. He then won the last four games.
“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “Just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”
Believe
Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz admitted he was struggling but said kept “believing, believing, all the time.”
“I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kinds of matches before, so I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball.”
Zverev was demonstrably upset about the time out out in the third set, taking it up with a tournament supervisor, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment and a massage on the leg.
After the match, he maintained that he didn’t think it was right, but he didn’t think it should overshadow the match.
“I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia,” he said “It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”
