Contrasting Fortunes for City Rivals in Champions League: Real Madrid Perfect, Atletico Suffering

Different fortunes for the Madrid duo on the European stage. While Real Madrid marched steadily maintaining a perfect record in this season's Champions League, their city rivals Atletico Madrid were battered in London with a heavy defeat.

On Thursday, October 23, 2025, early morning WIB at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid showed their class as the kings of Europe. Jude Bellingham's solitary goal made the difference in a tight match against Juventus which ended 1-0. 

Meanwhile, a day earlier at the Emirates Stadium, Atletico Madrid were helplessly slaughtered by Arsenal 0-4, a night full of suffering for Diego Simeone's troops.

With the victory over Juventus, Los Blancos collected 9 points from three matches. This win placed Real Madrid in fifth position in the Champions League group stage standings.

Madrid Wins Thanks to Bellingham

Quoted from the official website, the match against Juventus did not go smoothly. The visitors pressed from the start, creating chances through Federico Gatti and Dusan Vlahovic. However, Thibaut Courtois' brilliant performance under the bar kept Madrid's goal unbreached.

Madrid only found their rhythm in the middle of the first half. Brahim Diaz and Kylian Mbappe took turns threatening, but Juventus' goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, performed exceptionally.

The decisive goal came in the 57th minute. An individual effort by Vinicius Junior ended with a shot hitting the post. Bellingham struck the rebound into an empty net. That goal secured 3 points for Madrid while extending their perfect streak in three group stage matches.

With this result, Real Madrid moved closer to the round of 16, affirming their status as Europe's most consistent team.

Atletico Crumbled Heavily in London

Conversely, tragic fate befell Atletico Madrid. On their visit to London, the club nicknamed Los Colchoneros were slaughtered by Arsenal with a striking 0-4 scoreline.

Atletico held firm in the first half, but Arsenal's onslaught finally produced a goal in the 57th minute through Gabriel Magalhaes converting Declan Rice's pass.

After that, Arsenal ran riot. Gabriel Martinelli scored the second in the 64th minute, followed by two goals from Viktor Gyokeres in the 67th and 70th minutes.

Despite Jan Oblak's heroic moments, Arsenal's speed and attacking variety proved unstoppable. Atletico returned pointless and now languish in 18th place with just 3 points from three matches.

These two matches illustrate the sharp contrast in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid under Xabi Alonso performed like an efficient machine, calm under pressure. Conversely, Atletico Madrid seemed to have lost the hard-playing, disciplined identity that once defined them.