Real Beat Leaders Atletico in Madrid Derby

Defending champions Real Madrid inflicted the first defeat of the season on La Liga leader Atletico Madrid to pull within three points of the top.

Casemiro's 15th-minute header from Toni Kroos' corner gave the hosts a deserved lead at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, reports BBC.

Dani Carvajal's excellent second-half shot from outside the box rebounded from the post and in the back of Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Real climb to the third, while Atletico stays one point above Real Sociedad.

Both sides comfortably advanced to the Champions League last 16 with 2-0 wins in the middle of the week as Real defeated Borussia Monchengladbach in Group B and Atletico Madrid overcame RB Salzburg in second position to Bayern Munich.

In La Liga, Diego Simeone's side had won seven consecutive league games going into the derby, conceding just twice in their first 10 La Liga fixtures.

But it was Real who dominated the early stages, and Oblak made an excellent save to tip Karim Benzema's shot at the post before Casemiro's opener.

Simeone replied to a disappointing first half with three changes, and his side improved a lot after the break, while Thomas Lemar, a substitute, fired agonizingly wide from Marcos Llorente's low cross after 55 minutes.

That miss proved pivotal, as Carvajal's powerful attempt doubled Real's advantage seven minutes later.

Thibaut Courtois produced a good save from Saul Niguez to deny Atletico a late lifeline with their only shot on target, as the visitors fell to a first defeat in 26 league games - since a 1-0 loss in this fixture on 1 February.