La Liga 2024-25: Mbappe strike rescues draw for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid
La Liga 2024-25: Mbappe strike rescues draw for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw against city rival Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday with Kylian Mbappe scoring a second-half goal to cancel out Julian Alvarez’s first-half opener for the visiting side.
That kept Real top of LaLiga on 50 points, one ahead of Atletico in second which missed a chance to leapfrog it. Barcelona, third on 45 points, visits Sevilla on Sunday with a chance to close the gap in the title race.
In a tale of two halves at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Atletico dominated the first 45 minutes and took the lead when Alvarez struck a 35th minute penalty after Aurelien Tchouameni had fouled Samuel Lino inside the box.
Real roared back after the break, with Mbappe striking home a rebound in the 50th minute to level the game. But it was frustrated in its attempt to grab a win by an imperious Jan Oblak, who made a string of stunning saves.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico arrived in fine form, having won 19 of its previous 21 games in all competitions and it showed why it has the best defence in Europe’s top five leagues with 15 goals conceded in 23 games.
On Saturday, despite missing defensive stalwart Robin Le Normand to suspension, Simeone’s side was once again rock-solid at the back, frustrating Real’s stellar attack which was unable to create a single shot on target in the first half.
Winger Lino and forward Alvarez were a constant menace up and down the left channel, often exposing the deficiencies of Lucas Vazquez and Tchouameni who got the start in a depleted Real defence without its top four defenders due to injuries.
In the 25th minute, Atletico’s players complained forcefully to the referee over a studs-up challenge on Pablo Barrios by Dani Ceballos, asking for a straight red. But Cesar Soto Grado gave only a yellow.
Five minutes later, Atletico had its complaints heard when Tchouameni left a foot in on Lino as the ball came into the box in a quick counter-attack. At first, the referee did not spot the foul but after he was called to review the play in the VAR booth, he pointed to the penalty spot.
Cold-blooded Alvarez held his nerve under deafening booing from the sold-out Santiago Bernabeu crowd to brazenly chip his penalty down the middle as Thibaut Courtois dived low.
