Carlo Ancelotti's side showed heart in the second half, with their star Frenchman snagging a point in a fierce rival clash
Kylian Mbappe provided his first big involvement in a Madrid derby, grabbing the equaliser in a typically scrappy 1-1 draw that wasn't short on controversy. Atletico Madrid went ahead in the first half after a lengthy VAR review gifted them a soft penalty. Los Blancos showed up the more energetic side after the break, and were good value for the draw.
Atleti took the lead 34 minutes in when Julian Alvarez converted from the spot. The Argentine stepped up after Aurelien Tchouameni was adjudged to have clipped Samuel Lino, and the Argentine deftly dinked the ball down the middle to give his side a 1-0 advantage. Los Blancos, for their part, created little, and failed to put a shot on target in the first half.
Madrid woke up in the second. Mbappe provided the equaliser, latching onto a loose ball and scuffing a shot into the bottom corner past a stranded Jan Oblak. It was nearly 2-1 soon after, but Jude Bellingham clanged the crossbar with a header.
The rest of the Madrid attack began to hum from then on. Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior both had efforts denied. The pair combined for another good chance late on – which Rodrygo put wide. Atleti poured men forward in response, and threatened on a handful of occasions late on.
But the final moment never really came off for either side, and the spoils were shared to keep the title race in La Liga ticking along.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Bernabeu…
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Thibaut Courtois (6/10):
Could do nothing about the penalty. Had little else to do.
Lucas Vazquez (5/10):
Marauded forward, but left loads of space in behind. His side was too easily exploitable.
Raul Asencio (7/10):
Showed some impressive recovery pace to snuff out a few counter-attacks. Went to ground too easily once or twice.
Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):
Unbelievably unlucky to give away a penalty. Didn't do much wrong otherwise.
Fran Garcia (7/10):
Made sure nothing really went wrong down his side. Put in some crucial tackles.
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Dani Ceballos (6/10):
Paced the game rather well early, but faded out of it as things wore on.
Federico Valverde (6/10):
A rare uninvolved game from the Uruguayan – who usually shows up on nights like these.
Jude Bellingham (8/10):
Always up for the fight, zealous in his tackling. Was involved in the first goal and unlucky not to score. Absolutely ran it in the second half.
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Rodrygo (6/10):
Enjoyed the better of the play in the opening 45 minutes. Provided the cross that led to the equaliser, but could have been cleaner in his final pass.
Kylian Mbappe (7/10):
Routinely dropped far too deep to get involved in the first half. Allowed the game to stretch a bit more in the second, and was rewarded with a goal. Big players show up in big moments.
Vinicius Jr (6/10):
Barely involved in the first half other than to blast one wide. A different player altogether in the second half, full of energy and creativity.
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Eduardo Camavinga (N/A):
A welcome return to the side.
Luka Modric (N/A):
Didn't really get involved.
Brahim Diaz (N/A):
No time to make an impact
Carlo Ancelotti (6/10):
All out attack, and not much to work with in the back for the Madrid boss. He will rightly be fuming about the penalty, but his side didn't really do enough on the night to win. Not a bad point, all said.
