The second Madrid derby of the season has finished exactly like the first one did at the Metropolitano: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid playing out a 1-1 draw.
It was a very even first 35 minutes, with neither side having had a clear-cut opportunity. The first of the match has ended up coming from the penalty spot, and it resulted in Atleti taking the lead courtesy of Julian Alvarez. After a cross from the left, Aurelien Tchouameni was adjudged to have fouled Samuel Lino after standing on his foot. The foul was not given on-field, but after a VAR review, referee Cesar Soto Grado pointed to the penalty spot, which allowed the Argentine to break the deadlock.
That moment caused a lot of frustration for Real Madrid, who could not find an equaliser before the half time interval. However, they did managed to hit back only a few minutes into the second period as Kylian Mbappe scored his 16th La Liga goal of the season – and his 22nd in all competitions. It was brilliant play from Rodrygo Goes on the right, as he got to the by-line before cutting the ball back to Jude Bellingham – his effort was blocked by Jose Maria Gimenez, but the French forward made no mistake.
Real Madrid would dominate the second half, and they had a couple of half chances to score the winning goal. Vinicius Junior’s strike from a tight angle was palmed away by Jan Oblak, who also hung on to a dangerous in-swinging Luka Modric free-kick in the final minutes.
The result means that Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid remain separated by a single point after 23 matchdays. While it is not a bad outcome for either side, Barcelona are the ones that will be celebrating as a victory at Sevilla on Sunday would see them close to within two points of the La Liga summit.
