Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Madrid derby. It was a game which they dominated until the equaliser in stoppage time by former Madrid man, Marcos Llorente.
The draw does not make much of a difference to the points table as the Merengues still hold a 2-point lead over Girona. However, they would have liked a win as it would have extended their lead.
Vinícius was named in the starting lineup but during the warm-ups, he felt some discomfort in his cervical area. This led to Brahim Díaz taking the Brazilian’s spot in the lineup.
The Spanish winger made most of the opportunity as he gave Madrid the lead in the 20th minute after some poor defending by the Rojiblancos backline inside the box.
Five minutes into the 2nd half, Savic’s header ended up in the back of the net but the goal was cancelled as Saul was offside and impeded Lunin’s vision.
The Ukrainian goalkeeper, in particular, made some brilliant saves to prevent Atletico from scoring. This performance may also mean that Kepa will stay out of the lineup for quite some time.
Before coming off in the 70th minute, Brahim Díaz had an opportunity to double the lead as he was unable to make a finish after a fabulous effort – which may have been a Puskas-worthy goal.
This game was yet another controversial one as three possible penalties were not given. After a few viewings, even the commentators agreed that Real Madrid should have been given those penalties. In that case, the result of the game may have been different.
Just a few seconds before the game could end, Marcos Llorente’s header ended up in the back of the net as neither Carvajal nor Nacho were able to clear the ball.
It was a resilient performance by the Real Madrid defense as they were without Rüdiger and had just one natural center-back behind, with Carvajal being the other one.
Nothing much changes in the points table because even Girona were held to a stalemate against Real Sociedad. Real Madrid face Girona next week in what may be the most important fixture for both sides this season. Both draws this week, have made that game even more spicier.
