Advantage Barcelona as Real Madrid slip up against 10-man Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid fail to pile pressure on Barcelona as they were held to a draw in the Madrid derby.

Real Madrid came from behind to snatch a point against Atletico Madrid who went ahead and were set to win despite a numerical disadvantage.

Real Madrid hosted rivals Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in Gameweek 23 of LaLiga as they tried to temporarily cut their deficit behind Barcelona to five. Real Madrid dominated for much of the game, but despite being man-up, they conceded first. However, a late goal helped them snatch a point.

The first-half was barren, but the home side were handed an advantage in the 64th minute when Angel Correa was sent off. The red card did not deter Atletico, who took the lead in the 78th minute but could not hold on to it as Alvaro Rodriguez earned Madrid a point with an 85th-minute header.

Both teams would have wished for more than a draw as Real Madrid fail to keep pace with Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid miss a chance to leap-frog Real Sociedad and move into the top four.

How it happened

Real Madrid did not pick up from where they left off with their midweek thumping off Liverpool, as Diego Simeone’s men started the better side.

Neither side managed to breach the goal in the first-half with speculative long-range efforts being the best scoring chance for both sides in the half.

Los Blancos turned on their intensity out of the gate in the second-half, but Diego Simeone’s men played their way back into the game. Los Rojiblancos then suffered a casualty as referee Gil Manzano caught Angel Correa driving his elbow into Antoine Rudiger. The referee sent the Argentine in for an early shower without needing to consult VAR as he was certain of what he witnessed.

Atletico did not immediately suffer from the numerical disadvantage and even went on to grab the lead when Gimenez’s header flew past Thibaut Courtois. 

However, they failed to hold on as substitute Alvaro Rodriguez came on to snatch an equaliser for Carlo Ancelotti’s men with a header of his own, connecting beautifully with a Luka Modric cross.

Real Madrid’s young hero

The 18-year-old Alvaro Rodriguez became the second-youngest scorer for Real Madrid at the Madrid derby at 18 years and 266 days, only behind club legend Raul who did it at 17.

The young Uruguayan is becoming the revelation of the season for Los Blancos, endearing himself to the Madrid faithful with two super-sub appearances. He came on to give an assist against Osasuna two gameweeks ago, and against Atletico, he ensured they snatched a point with a brilliant header.