This was a match the whole of Spain, and indeed the whole world, was watching.
Or rather, a match the whole world was watching.
Barcelona fans were leaving supportive comments for Real Madrid on the club's official Twitter account.
Screenshots of those comments were being widely circulated.
Barça fans were cheering for Madrid sincerely, and humiliating them sincerely too.
Real Madrid fans were furious when they saw it,
but there was nothing they could do.
They were trailing in the table, after all.
At the pre-match press conference,
Mourinho refused to answer questions about whether he would be sacked.
But in his starting lineup,
he showed his hard line again.
Even though Marca, AS, and the rest of Madrid's mouthpiece media, along with a host of Real Madrid legends, had all called for Mourinho to bury the hatchet with Casillas and start him in this crucial match,
when the lineups were announced before kickoff,
people still saw the same thing:
Diego López in goal for Real Madrid.
And Casillas, once again, on the bench.
On a sunny day in Madrid,
the Calderón roared like a tidal wave.
Both teams were already in position, waiting for kickoff.
But the TV screen gave a long close-up to Casillas sitting on the bench, looking a little gloomy.
Spanish sports commentator Mario sighed inwardly.
"Many people thought this Madrid derby, which concerns Real Madrid's dignity, would be the place where Mourinho and Casillas could at least briefly make peace. But clearly, Mourinho is still being very hard-line..."
On the other side,
China's national TV commentator He Wei made a similar point.
"Whatever the case, without Casillas on the line, Real Madrid's defensive stability does carry hidden risks..."
That was not to say Diego López lacked quality.
Diego López was certainly a top-class goalkeeper.
But a defensive line is a collective.
On the one hand,
Real Madrid's defenders had more chemistry with Casillas and trusted him more.
That trust helps defenders perform better.
On the other hand,
Casillas was the unquestioned leader of the back line. He could organize and command the defense.
Diego López did not have that authority...
So while a goalkeeper change may seem small on the surface,
if the change means removing the team's defensive commander, the absolute dressing-room leader, and exposing the conflict between captain and coach to everyone,
the blow to morale is impossible to measure with numbers.
After discussing Madrid's internal turmoil for a while,
the commentators finally turned to the match itself.
"Let's take a look at the lineups. First, the home side Atlético Madrid..."
"Courtois in goal, Godín and Miranda at center-back, Juanfran at left-back, Filipe at right-back, Koke, Shane Carter, Gabi, and Raúl García in midfield, and Costa partnering Griezmann up front."
"And for the visitors, Real Madrid—since Özil is injured, Modrić starts tonight. Diego López continues in goal. Otherwise, Madrid field their usual starters: Diego López; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, and Marcelo at the back; Xabi Alonso, Khedira, and Modrić in midfield; and Ronaldo, Benzema, and Di María up front."
"Modrić's performances have been heavily questioned. A lot of Madrid fans think he's been a flop..." Xu Yang added.
When Modrić first arrived in Spain, he actually had about a month where his performances were decent.
But after that, his form sharply declined, and in his competition with Özil he was clearly outclassed.
That led many Madrid fans to think the player they bought from Tottenham was not worth it.
Just as the commentators were talking,
the referee blew his whistle.
The match had begun.
Atlético Madrid kicked off first.
They did not rush into an attack immediately.
Although Real Madrid's form this season was poor,
they were still Real Madrid.
The attacking power of the Ronaldo–Benzema–Di María front three was not something you could ignore.
The ball came to Shane Carter's feet.
He controlled it and motioned for his teammates to spread out.
The two wide midfielders pushed forward.
Griezmann dropped deeper.
Costa held the opposing back line and moved laterally.
The two fullbacks widened the pitch and made themselves available.
The two center-backs and Courtois were ready to recycle possession at any time.
Gabi dropped back to stay near Shane and provide support.
Atlético Madrid's attacking structure was already highly mature.
Against the press from Benzema and Modrić,
Shane pulled the ball back first, shaped as though he would pass back to Godín, then suddenly turned and rolled away between the two men, gliding past them and continuing forward.
He drew Xabi Alonso out of the line, manipulated Real Madrid's holding midfield block, and only then played the ball into Griezmann's feet.
As soon as Griezmann received it,
Di María and Khedira closed in to press.
At the same time,
Shane jogged into space, opening up an angle to receive.
Griezmann laid it back.
Shane met the ball, suddenly accelerated, stepped into his run, and launched a long pass!
The ball flew to Raúl García on the right side.
Without taking a touch, he lifted his foot and played the ball on in one fluid motion.
It looked effortless, almost understated.
But anyone who understood football could not help but admire it.
"Beautiful pass!"
Mario slapped his thigh.
What made the pass special was not only the accuracy, but Shane's vision and awareness of the whole field.
By the time Griezmann laid it off, he had already seen the space on the far side.
Think it, see it, play it.
That is what midfielders are supposed to do.
It is ordinary in principle.
But when it works every time,
it becomes extraordinary.
Raúl García was also impressed.
The ball arrived perfectly in front of him, and all he had to do was cushion it with the inside of his foot.
Then he curled it toward the box with his right foot.
Inside the area,
Costa attacked the gap between Pepe and Ramos.
He was ready to dive in for a header,
but Pepe got there first and glanced the ball with his head.
The ball bounced up and over the crossbar, shocking the Madrid fans.
Pepe had almost scored an own goal.
Seeing Atlético's attack,
Mourinho frowned deeply.
He stared at Shane Carter, and from that long pass alone he could tell Shane was in superb form.
A bad feeling crept into Mourinho's mind.
Of course,
he knew very well that if this season ended without a trophy, he would probably be sacked.
But he did not want to be beaten twice by Atlético Madrid.
Mourinho stepped to the touchline.
Both hands pressed downward repeatedly,
telling his players to stay compact and defend firmly.
That sight made Ronaldo sigh.
In his view,
attacking football was the blood of Real Madrid.
Mourinho kept telling them to sit deeper and shrink the shape backward.
Attack?
Attack nothing.
Last season, when Mourinho and the squad were still in their honeymoon phase,
everything looked fine.
But this season, by now...
it was not only the Spanish faction.
Even the Portuguese faction, led by Ronaldo, had accumulated plenty of resentment toward the Portuguese manager Mourinho.
The two sides were almost at war.
You could say that in the Real Madrid dressing room,
Mourinho had fallen out with both the homegrown Spanish group and the Portuguese-speaking group.
He was almost completely unable to rely on the support of the dressing room anymore.
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