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And on that note, I've been Craig Vickers and it's been a pleasure! Goodnight!

A frantic 90 minutes. Navas the hero for Real as he denied Griezmann from 12 yards in the first-half. Real yet to break their Madrid Derby hoodoo in the league.

Full-time: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid. Honours even at the Vincente Calderon as Vietto cancels out Benzema's first-half opener. 

92': Martinez heads wide from a corner. Seconds remaining.

91': Ronaldo tries his luck from distance but his effort poses no threat to Oblak. If there was ever a moment that synopsised his evening.

90' - CHANCE FOR ATLETICO: Navas is equal to Jackson's vicious effort from the edge of the penalty area. Corner.

Arbeloa goes into the referees notebook after hacking down Ferreira-Carrasco.

83': Simeone is going wild on the touchline. But credit must go to Jackson Martinez, who races past Arbeloa and provides the most troubling of cut-backs. Griezmann is denied but Vietto follows up to open his account in Atleti colours. 1-1 with six minutes plus added time to play.

GOALLLLL!!! ATLETICO MADRID!!!!! LUCIANO VIETTO!!!!!

Atleti have yet to muster a shot on target from open play. A damning statistic until you consider that the vistors had summoned only one of their own.

80' - CHANCE FOR ATLETI: Yannick Fereira-Carrasco floats a delicious ball into Vietto but the Argentine heads wide.

Vietto is booked for a challenge of Modric.

Substitution for Real Madrid: Benzema off, Kovacic on.

74' - CHANCE FOR REAL MADRID: Ronaldo, in what feels like his only menacing effort of the evening, flashes his strike into the sidenetting.

73': The ball falls to Jackson on the byline after Vietto's shot is blocked, but the Colombian's cut-back is safely collected by Oblak.

Substitution for Real Madrid: Isco off, Gareth Bale on.

Substitution for Atletico Madrid: Torres off, Jackson on.

60 minutes have passed and Real are still a goal to the good. Bale's introduction is imminent.

Casemiro booked for an overzealous lunge on Filipe Luis.

59' - CHANCE FOR ATLETI: A series of important stops denies Atleti from a leveller. First Torres is denied, and seconds later Godin's effort is thwarted before it reaches Navas.

The ex-Villarreal forward is yet to open his account in Atleti colours. 

Substitution for Atletico Madrid: Correa off, Vietto on.

(Disclaimer: Yannick Fereira Carrasco was introduced at half-time in place of Oliver.)

50': Excellent counter attack from the away side but Isco's delivery is disappointing.

49' - CHANCE FOR ATLETI: Torres is released by Correa through the middle but he, quite literally, flashes his effort across the six-yard box. A peak Torres run, a current Torres finish.

Gareth Bale warming up on the sidelines. The Welshman hasn't featured since he pulverised Real Betis at the end of August.

Second-half is underway!

An entertaining opening 45 minutes. Atleti have failed to create much since Griezmann was thwarted from 12 yards. Benzema and Correa have shone for their respective sides.

Half-time: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid. Karim Benzema's eighth-minute header enough to seperate the two sides.

A single minute added on at the end of the half.

Substitution for Real Madrid: Carvajal off, Arbeloa on.

40': Carvajal limping off and will be replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa. An innocous challenged, granted, but seems to have left the right-back in a lot of distress. Question marks over his invovlement with the Spain NT next week.

37': Ronaldo lashes a free-kick from distance but it dips too late and poses no threat to Oblak between the sticks.

35': Torres drifts in-behind and unleashes an effort towards goal, but the linesman had already flagged for offside.

32': Speaking of the devil, he pops up on the edge of the penalty area but blasts over. Every touch is being met with a chorus of jeers.

29': Ronaldo, too, has yet to impose himself on the match. But, as we've became fully cognisant of, the Portuguese can pop up at any given moment.

28': Atleti yet to trouble Navas' goal since the penalty stop. 

22': The Costan Rican has developed into an indomitable figure since David De Gea's move to the Spanish capital failed to come fruition. Eight clean sheets in his last 12 games and he denies Griezmann with a fine save here.

KEYLOR NAVAS SAVES!!!!! 

Ramos is adjudged to have upended Tiago inside the penalty area. Spaniard can have no qualms about the decision.

PENALTY FOR ATLETI!!!

Gabi is booked for cynically clipping the goalscorer. Gimenez compounds the Frenchman's misery by blasting the ball at him while on the floor.

15': A frantic opening quarter. The away side lead courtesy of Benzema but Simeone's side have shown signs that they have awoken.

Atleti's influence is growing. 

14': Correa proving a thorn in the visiting rearguard. This time he retrives possession in midfield, slaloms his way through several challenges but cannot steer his effort on target.

10' - CHANCE FOR ATLETI: Correa plays a lovely give-and-go with Oliver but he flashes his effort inches wide of the far post.

8': Carvajal skips past Luis with consummate ease and delivers a tantalising ball onto the head of Karim Benzema who nods past Oblak. A wonderful goal. 1-0 Real.

GOALLL!!!! REAL MADRIDDDD!!! KARIM BENZEMA!!!!!!

5': Keylor Navas' dallies in possession and is quickly closed down by Antoine Griezmann.

4': Angel Correa collects Filipe Luis' cross but the angle proves to narrow and he lashes wide. 

2': Ronaldo rises highest from a Modric cross but he diverts his header wide.

Kick-off! 

Visitors seeking to end their derby hoodoo. Hosts looking for their first victory in three. It should be a cracker!

Benitez has lined his side up in a 4-3-3 formation. Bold decision from the Spaniard to opt for Casemiro in midfield - impressed in midweek against Malmo, however.

Real Madrid XI: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Isco, Benzeman, Ronaldo.

Atletico Madrid XI: Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Filipe; Gabi, Tiago, Oliver; Correa, Torres, Griezmann.

There has also been an influx of youth at Atleti. Luciano Vietto and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco were bought this summer from Villarreal and AS Monaco, respectively and will look to be a major part of the attack for years to come. Oliver Torres, after a couple of successful loan spells, has appeared in all six league matches thus far, despite coming off the bench five times in league play.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, have a totally revamped squad with more depth. Favored left back Felipe Luis is back from a short stint in the English capital and has given that position more stability. Jackson Martinez, one of the more prolific strikers in the world, joined Atleti from FC Porto and has proven to be a force in front of the goal as he uses his strength to go up against any central defender in Spain.

Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, he has been on an absolute tear as of late. He has five goals, in six league appearances, and ten in all competitions. The league goals though, came in one match against Espanyol – with one of them coming from the spot. Then, against Ukrainian club Shakthar Donetsk, he scored three more times as his side won 3-0, giving him a total of eight goals in a matter of three days.

It was not easy for Real Madrid in their last Champions League match against Swedish side, Malmo, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals in their away victory. Even though possession was a little over 3/4ths in favor of the Madrid, Malmo was able to get four of their five shots on target, including a near equalizer in the second half of the match.

For today’s visitors, they have been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, dropping only four points in league play – the first: an opening day draw against newly promoted sides with the second: a nil-nil draw as Los Blancos were held scoreless at the Bernabeu. In Champions League play, Atleti were handed their first defeat of the group stage as they were dropped by a tough Benfica side. After taking an early 1 – nil lead thanks to a goal from Angel Correra, the Portuguese side came back with Nicolas Gaitan and Goncalo Cuedes finding the back of the net to complete the comeback and secure all three points. Atletico Madrid need this victory in the worst way possible, as a loss would move them anywhere between five and seven points behind the top spot as they were handed a defeat by Villarreal last time out in league play.

Their last meeting, in the quarterfinals of the last season’s edition of the Champions League, was a cagey affair. There was nothing settled in the first leg of the round as neither side found a breakthrough; but in the final leg of the round, it was Javier Hernandez who found the back of the net in what would be the deciding goal.

These two sides have met a whopping twelve times in all competitions since February of last year in a variety of competitions. Since this time, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have both won four of those 12 times while drawing the other eight in regulation. However, Real has the upper hand by defeating them in extra time in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final as they lifted La Decima.

Hello, and welcome to VAVEL UK’s live coverage of the Madrid derby as Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. My name is Craig Vickers and I will be bringing you live coverage of this big La Liga match.

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About the author
Craig Vickers
Milk, honey and Andy Murray. Email: craigvickers1998[at]outlook.com