Real striker Kylian Mbappe’s second-half equaliser cancels out Julian Alvarez’s penalty for Atletico in Madrid derby.
Kylian Mbappe scored in his first derby against Atletico Madrid as Real Madrid fought back for a 1-1 draw and kept its slim lead in the Spanish league.
Julian Alvarez put Atletico ahead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. The kick was awarded after the referee was called to review a challenge by Aurelien Tchouameni on Samuel Lino.
Mbappe equalised in the 50th minute for the hosts, who have stayed one point ahead of second-placed Atletico in the standings, after latching onto a blocked effort by Jude Bellingham to slot home.
Bellingham hit the crossbar with a header as Madrid searched for a second goal, while Atletico goalkeeper Jan Olbak made saves to deny Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior and Mbappe to split the points in the Spanish capital.
“We knew how to hang in there and had our chances,” Alvarez said. “We are in the fight and will stay in it right to the end.”
Atletico, who spent big last summer to acquire Alvarez and other reinforcements, are trying to add to league titles in 2021 and 2014 under coach Diego Simeone.
They arrived in fine form, having won 19 of their previous 21 games in all competitions, and they showed why they have the best defence in Europe’s top five leagues with 15 goals conceded in 23 games.
On Saturday, despite losing defensive stalwart Robin Le Normand to suspension, Simeone’s side was once again rock-solid at the back, frustrating Real’s stellar attack who were unable to create a single shot on target in the first half.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti was quick to accept that it was a game of two halves: “We controlled the second half well. We scored and had chances. We played a very good second half. First half was different. We were very slow and not aggressive enough.
“The penalty affected the team. After the penalty, and before, we were playing very slow. We didn’t take advantage of the field. In the second half, we opened the field and made it wider, and took advantage of that. We created lots of problems in the second half,” he said.
A spate of injuries left Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti relying on a makeshift backline of Lucas Vázquez, regular midfielder Tchouameni, youth player Raul Asencio, and Fran García.
It was the reckless stretch of his boot by Tchouameni that ended up tripping Lino but it still required VAR to intervene for the kick to be awarded.
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez gently stroked his penalty down the middle as Thibaut Courtois dived to his left.
Antoine Griezmann showed again his great value to Atletico with precision passing even under duress. The French midfielder twice placed perfectly weighted balls that left Alvarez and Lino in a good position to get off shots inside the area, but clumsy touches by both ruined the opportunities.
Rodrygo sparked the Madrid comeback just after halftime when he dribbled past Javi Galan and Lino on the right side and slipped a ball to Bellingham in the heart of the box.
Bellingham’s scuffed shot hit a defender and fell to Mbappe, who had missed the first Atletico derby of the season – a 1-1 draw in September – because of injury, to rifle home for his first goal against Real’s cross-city rivals.
Madrid poured forward searching for a second goal with Atletico rattled. Vinicius dribbled down the left side and scooped the ball for Bellingham, who smashed a header off the woodwork.
Simeone changed both his fullbacks with Reinildo and Nahuel Molina in the 63rd, but Oblak still had to come to Atletico’s rescue on three occasions.
“In the first half, we played very well,” Simeone said. “In the second half, they scored right away, then hit the bar. It was very intense.
“After 20 minutes in the second half, we also had our opportunities … Julian [Alvarez] slipped on one, [Marcos] Llorente a couple of times. At the end, it was a draw, [but] both teams thought they could win the game.”
Barcelona, in third place, are now five points behind Madrid ahead of their trip to Sevilla on Sunday.