Real Madrid 3-7 Atletico Madrid: Twitter Reaction & Review to Utterly Bizarre Pre-Season Goal Fest
Atletico Madrid annihilated bitter rivals Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup, as they came out 7-3 winners in New Jersey, USA.
With both clubs spending big this summer, there was plenty of new talent on show, but it was only the men in red and white who did themselves proud, as Los Blancos fell to an embarrassing defeat.
Diego Costa opened the scoring within 45 seconds when his deflected effort beat Thibaut Courtois, having been slipped through by new teammate Joao Felix. Schoolboy defending from Zidane's men saw them go two goals down inside ten minutes, as Felix got on the end of Saul Niguez's cutback to poke the ball through the legs of the scrambling keeper.
Diego Simeone's side wasted several chances to make it three, but eventually did so inside 20 minutes when Angel Correa's neat touch and finish from Koke's poked pass beat the helpless Courtois in the opposing goal.
Los Rojiblancos astonishingly made it five before the break as Sergio Ramos' dreadful lofted pass allowed Costa to score again, before Isco's silly foul allowed the Spaniard to complete a first half hat-trick from the penalty spot.
After such a dismal opening 45 minutes, all Real needed was a half-time team talk to get their heads right and regain some pride in the second half, right? Wrong.
Just five minutes after the restart, Felix found Costa with ease once again and he chipped over the onrushing keeper to make it six.
Real did pull one back when Eden Hazard's (good move, eh?) low cross went in off Nacho, though in truth the defender knew little about it.
The Diego Costa circus then rolled into town once more, with a needless lashing out at Dani Carvajal sparking a 22-man brawl - leading to a pair of red cards being brandished. So much more for international companionship.
This did not faze Atleti, however, as just a few minutes later Vitolo embarked on a mazy run and finished it off with a fine strike into the bottom corner to make it 7-1.
Real restored a modicum of pride with late goals from Karim Benzema and Javier Hernandez Carrera, but it really was a night to forget. Unless you're on Twitter.
Because if you are, it was fun for all the family. Let's start with the Spanish press., renowned for their (not so) measured outlook on things...
Hmm.
Maybe not.
The game was played whilst most football fans in Europe will have been asleep, so maybe the neutrals might have a slightly different take.
Not much sympathy for Real Madrid there either...but given Zidane's record at the club, you expect that Los Blancos' most loyal supporters will have shown some humility and perspective in the face of this adversity.
Ok, nobody expects that, but let's take a look at their reaction anyway.
It's not all about Real Madrid, of course. Atleti put in a brilliant display and rightly so, their own fans are dreaming of what this season can bring.
Nevertheless, most of the football 'Twitterverse' are using last night's match as an opportunity to revel in the misfortune of one of the world's most successful and powerful clubs.
Here's a roundup of the best of the rest that the social media site had to offer.