Saturday evening's 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid saw Atletico Madrid suffer their first league defeat at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in 434 days. Not since Barcelona defeated them 2-1 in the third weekend of last season - when goals from Leo Messi and Neymar cancelled out Fernando Torres' opener - had Los Rojiblancos finished a home LaLiga game without any points. They played 22 matches in between those two defeats, winning 18 times and drawing on four occasions - against Real Madrid last season, as well as when Sevilla, Villarreal and Deportivo Alaves came to town. Just 12 home league goals have been conceded since that Barcelona victory in September 2015, although half of them have hit the back of the net in the past three matches - three in this weekend's Madrid derby, plus two against Malaga and one against Granada.Madrid moved further ahead at the top of LaLiga on Saturday evening with a dominant 3-0 derby victory, but Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke believed the magnitude of the result somewhat flattered Los Blancos. The 24-year-old praised his city rivals, but also explained that he felt Real Madrid benefitted from luck at the right moments. "Atletico go home upset because it wasn't a 3-0 kind of game," he said after the final whistle. "It was a difficult evening because we wanted to win and we could not, yet we have to congratulate them."
Describing the pattern of the game, the midfielder discussed the deflection that steered Cristiano Ronaldo's first half free-kick past Jan Oblak, as well as the penalty conceded after the interval, one which he felt was incorrectly awarded. "They looked to play a very direct game and were more comfortable," he said of the start to the match. "Then they got the goal with a bit of good fortune. "In the second half we started better, but then the penalty came and from where we were, it seemed that it wasn't a penalty. "From the penalty onwards, it was difficult to come back from going 2-0 down." Although he was disappointed with the result, Koke told reporters that he and his teammates wouldn't dwell on the loss and that they would be looking ahead. "We are pissed off because this happened against our eternal rival, but there is no doubt that we will improve because we are good players," he insisted. Los Rojiblancos return to action on Wednesday evening when they host PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
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