La Liga 2024-25: Atletico Madrid holds Villarreal to 1-1 draw
La Liga 2024-25: Atletico Madrid holds Villarreal to 1-1 draw
Atletico Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw against visiting Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday after Samuel Lino’s close-range effort in the second half cancelled out a controversial penalty converted by Gerard Moreno.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico, now without a victory in its last two league games after a 15-game winning run in all competitions, has lost top spot to Real Madrid, which has 49 points.
It is second with 45 followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points. Villarreal is fifth on 34.
Atletico dominated against Villarreal but it was the visitor who took the lead in the 29th minute, with Moreno converting a spot kick after he was fouled from behind.
Atletico’s players complained to the referee, arguing that defender Reinildo Mandava touched the ball first before making contact with Moreno, but Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez considered the challenge was an infringement and stuck to his decision.
Moreno made the most of Villarreal’s only shot on target in the game before Atletico piled on the pressure, mainly through forward Julian Alvarez who forced goalkeeper Luiz Junior to make two fine saves to keep out his efforts from the edge of the box.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone tried to shake things up with halftime substitutions and his side equalised in the 58th minute after a spell of pressure when Lino tapped home a rebound after the goalkeeper failed to hold Angel Correa’s close-range strike.
Villarreal wasted chances on the counter but the hosts came closer to scoring as Junior had to make a stunning one-handed save to stop Pablo Barrios’ thunderous strike from outside the box in the 85th, with Antoine Griezmann just missing with a close-range header in added time.
