An interesting game. Atlético’s second consecutive Liga win at the Bernabéu, having spent from 1999 until 2013 unable to beat Madrid. A big gap, now, between Barcelona at the top of the table and Real Madrid.

Aside from all that here’s three things to mull on after an embarrassing night for the European champions

1) Iker Casillas is under enormous pressure

Many from the UK who come to a major match in Spain complain about the atmosphere. UK stadia are adversarial places. The away fans add loads to the spectacle and give the visiting team something to hang on to when their energy dips or if they are trying to claw back a negative scoreline.

On the other hand, Spain’s biggest stadia can be a coliseum on a night like this. Eighty thousand fanatical fans at the Bernabéu last night – at least 99% of them Madridistas. The advantage? It should be a wall of noise. A wall of loyalty. A Phil Spector wall of sound – taunting Atlético with the result in Lisbon and giving the players in white a feeling of invincibility and responsibility. But after the first goal, a dreadful piece of defending from Benzema who simply allowed Tiago to muscle in front of him as the corner kick dropped perfectly at the front post to gift Atleti the first goal, a significant chunk of the Bernabéu turned on Iker Casillas. Although the error was not, I’d say in any way, his. Several times when he was in possession of the ball he was whistled and jeered – by his own fans – until the dormant, loyal part of the stadium began to chant:Iker! Iker! This last happened when Mourinho was at his worst at Madrid. It divided, it caused rancour which exists to this day and it debilitated Los Blancos.

Vicente Del Bosque commented last week that the thing which was most damaging Iker, his form and confidence, was “losing the faith of the Madrid faithful”. They pay their money. Spain’s a democracy. They are free to do what they want, I guess. But to me they are moronic, disloyal and becoming part of the problem. And the hard fact, the realpolitik is that whether Casillas is or isn’t culpable for Madrid’s weak start (three measly points against Cordoba so far) there will come a stage where the manager will lance the boil and make a change. And if Ancelotti feels that Keylor has the key to Madrid’s Billy Smart’s Circus defending at corners, then that might be sooner rather than later.

2) Xabi Alonso is the ghost at the feast

Although the criminal act [in football terms] committed by Florentino Pérez was the decision flow which decided: Ángel Di Maria wasn’t worth a proper salary raise; that he could be replaced by James Rodríguez; that Madrid wouldn’t notice the loss of his hard work and his creativity … this game also started to give notice that allowing Xabi Alonso to go to Bayern without there being a proper replacement was beyond foolhardy.

Look at the game. Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić played adequately for some of the 90 minutes as the two central midfielders in what was, until Madrid totally lost any semblance of shape, nominally a 4-4-2. But neither player was the commanding, organizing pivote Madrid now lack. In fact, Los Blancos played so high up the pitch that for large spells that pivote was Ramos. Pushed up in behind a midfield which was laying siege to Moyá’s goal. Ok so far as it went.

However, when Atlético profited from a greater game plan, better team shape, more cohesion and the introduction of Arda Turan, the lack of Alonso, or a player who matches his positional sense and defensive responsibility, became blindingly obvious. Kroos, too wide, couldn’t close down the throw in. Arda, already totally isolated, is waving his arms to attract attention just on the edge of the box. No player in white reacts. Juanfran’s cut back is exquisite, just fabulous. Ramos makes a horrible error in following the cross, not Raúl Garcia, and leaves his man completely free. Luckily for the Spain international it’s not Garcia who scores, thanks to his ‘leave’ because of Arda’s call. But where was Modric? Running into the frame just as the Turk has swept the ball beyond Iker. From the time that the throw is taken to the time Arda scores, any number of players could have reacted and closed the Atleti substitute down. But no-one did.

What’s more you could just see the ghostly image of Alonso’s white shirt where he could and should have been – bang on the edge of the box, shutting down the winning goalscorer. For whatever reason Alonso was allowed to go it was a strategic error by Madrid – not because the Basque can last forever, nor because he’s the perfect footballer at nearly 33. But because, right now, they don’t have a replacement and that specific fact has now cost them two horrible defeats and six goals conceded on the last two games.

3) Atléti have replaced Diego Costa … but well enough?

It’s now clear that they’ve lost their two best players, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois, yet managed to stay ahead of Madrid. No mean feat. The evidence is of three Madrid derbies this season resulting in two Atleti wins and one draw. Yet there’s a job of work for Diego Simeone – on the training ground as much as when he’s back on the touchline following his ban.

I admit, now, I’m no fan of Mandžukić. Able in the air, a decent link-up player but a stroppy man, full of nasty habits on the pitch, constantly whining to the ref and, off field, with a Kevin the Teenager tendency, so far as those at Bayern indicate. Also, in pure football terms, not the guy you pay your money to be thrilled by. He’ll win them games – when the ball’s served up. But he can’t even begin to replace the movement, the hard work, the pressing, the showing for the ball and the channel running which Costa gave Atleti.

When the champions are on top and pummeling a team then the way they use the ball via Koke, Juanfran, Siqueira and Gabi will surely give the Croat headed goals. But when Atleti are caged in by a team which is their equal or which is on better form then Simeone will need to perm, cleverly, between his now vast strikeforce to find the pace and the counter-attacking instinct which can help win Atleti those elusive and 24-karat away points in the mid-term months of January-March when ‘things ain’t working’ and the title can slip away meekly.

Can Arda, Cerci, Raul Jiménez and Griezmann give him the pace plus goals which they lost to Chelsea? Something for El Cholo to work on.