Luciano Vietto struck seven minutes from time to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in Sunday evening's La Liga clash at the Vicente Calderon.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring for the visitors in the ninth minute, but Atletico had the chance to level from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute when Sergio Ramos brought Tiago to the ground.
Antoine Griezmann stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, but his effort was denied by Keylor Navas. The hosts managed to secure a point late on, however, with substitute Vietto poking home from close range.
Real Madrid missed the chance to go top after failing to record all three points, but have moved into second position, while Atletico are in fifth, two points behind Los Blancos.
Here, Sports Mole has dissected the 90 minutes of action between the two teams.
Match statistics
ATLETICO
Shots: 18
On target: 4
Possession: 49%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 19
REAL MADRID
Shots: 9
On target: 2
Possession: 51%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
One look at the statistics would suggest that this was a game full of opportunities, but that was not really the case. There might have been almost 30 attempts between the two teams, but just six of those were on target and only a couple forced the opposing goalkeeper into serious action. It was always going to be the type of match where the first goal was important and when Benzema headed Real Madrid into the lead in the opening 10 minutes, it was a tough ask for Atletico to respond against a team that had, entering the match, only conceded once in the league all season.
The hosts should have been level in the 22nd minute when Griezmann placed the ball on the penalty spot, but Navas was on hand to make an excellent save. Chances were few and far between from that moment until the latter stages, when Vietto and Jackson Martinez showed their freshness to change the game. Both were involved in the leveller and based on the pressure Atletico applied, it would be fair to say that they deserved to equalise at that stage of the game. Real Madrid might feel that they did enough to win it, but when taking everything into account, a 1-1 draw was just about right.
Atletico's performance
Vietto, Martinez and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco all arrived at Atletico for big money in the summer, but all three were left on the bench as Diego Simeone went for Fernando Torres and Angel Correa alongside Griezmann. Simeone would have been looking for a fast start from his team, but it was Real Madrid that started on the front foot and Benzema was left all alone inside the penalty box to head a Dani Carvajal cross home from close range. At that moment, the home team were facing their third straight defeat in all competitions and third loss in the league at this stage of the season.
Correa came close to levelling in the 12th minute after good work from Oliver Torres, but the Argentine dragged his effort wide of the post. Excellent pressing from Fernando Torres forced Atletico's penalty, however, with the Spaniard capitalising on a mistake from Ramos, who ultimately brought Tiago to the ground. Griezmann stepped up with confidence, but his low strike was beaten away by Navas. There was plenty of energy from both teams in the latter stages of the first half, but no real opportunities and that was a pattern that continued for long spells of the second 45 minutes.
Indeed, apart from a Fernando Torres strike, which went out for a throw, neither team came close to adding to the scoring until the 81st minute, when Vietto headed a Carrasco cross wide of the post. There is no question that Simeone's three changes - Vietto, Martinez and Carrasco - all made a difference late on and it was Vietto that poked home an equaliser in the 83rd minute. Martinez might have won it late on with a powerful drive from the edge of the box, but Navas made a smart save. Atletico are still searching for their best form, but Simeone will be able to take a number of positives from this performance.
Real Madrid's performance
Real Madrid are still without the likes of Danilo, Pepe and James Rodriguez, but Ramos and Gareth Bale were both declared fit for this match, with the former starting and the latter selected among the substitutes. As mentioned, it was a fast start from the visitors and strong work from Carvajal led to Benzema heading Los Blancos into the lead. Ramos will not want to see the penalty incident too many times after making two mistakes in quick succession, but Navas came to his team's rescue with a fine stop from Griezmann. An entertaining opening 22 minutes saw Real Madrid lead by the one goal.
A first period that threatened much early on did not really ignite, however, with both teams struggling for that final pass as the half developed. Cristiano Ronaldo had a couple of attempts, but Jan Oblak was comfortable in the Atletico goal. Indeed, there were just two attempts on target in the first period - the goal and the penalty. Instead of pushing for a second, which would have killed the game, Real Madrid attempted to stifle Atletico, but it was a dangerous tactic against a team that started to see much more of the ball. Indeed, Rafael Benitez's decision to replace Benzema with Mateo Kovacic raised eyebrows.
It did appear that Los Blancos would close the game out for all three points, but Alvaro Arbeloa, who came on for Carvajal in the first half, was beaten by Martinez down the left and Atletico equalised through Vietto. It was an untidy goal to concede from the away side's point of view, but it is difficult to say that Real Madrid were unfortunate to only draw. They had some decent moments on the counter-attack in the second half, but clear chances were very much at a premium. Taking everything into account, it is a good result for Real Madrid, but Benitez will see it as an opportunity missed.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Keylor Navas: To be blunt, there was not really an outfield player on either team that stood out. Casemiro had a strong game for Real Madrid in the middle of the park, but ultimately the big moments in the game were decided by Navas. The Los Blancos stopper, who came so close to leaving the Bernabeu in the summer, made a wonderful save to deny Griezmann from the penalty spot and also saved from Martinez's powerful strike late on, which would have won it for the hosts. Navas has only conceded twice in the league this season and his performances have been very impressive indeed.
Biggest gaffe
On his return to the team following a shoulder injury, Ramos had a bit of a horror in the first period. The Spaniard needlessly conceded possession to Fernando Torres inside the Real Madrid half, but the visitors did manage to survive that phase. After Torres was denied, Ramos looked to clear the danger, but the centre-back took one touch too many and clumsily brought Tiago to the ground as Atletico won a first-half penalty. Navas bailed Ramos out, but it was still really poor from the defender.
Referee performance
As expected, it was a very busy evening for referee Alberto Undiano, who issued 10 yellow cards in total. It took until the 17th minute for the first booking to be issued, but Undiano was consistent from that moment. The Spaniard was also correct to award Atletico a first-half penalty when Ramos clearly felled Tiago inside the box. Overall, Undiano can be pretty pleased with his performance in the Spanish capital.
What next?
Atletico: After the international break, Atleti will travel to Real Sociedad on October 18.
Real Madrid: Los Blancos continue their La Liga season at home to Levante on October 17.
Matt Law
