Derbies are always difficult to predict and to earn the three points. This time the derby ended in a draw with teams sharing 1 point. Both goals came in the second half and both were from set pieces. Atlético took the lead in the 78th minute with a free kick taken by Griezmann and headed home by Giménez. The equaliser came in the 85th minute. Modrić put in a corner and youth product Álvaro beat Oblak with a beautiful header. Considering the strong opponent and the type of games, a draw is never a bad result, but at this moment every dropped point is game killer for Madrid, because Barcelona is extending the lead.
There was very little danger created in the first half, which was played with little pace. The teams’ movements looked rigid and seemed like they were lacking lucidity while also looking to find safe ways and not trying to risk. The first chance was for the Whites; Asensio's long-range shot in the 9th minute was repelled with some difficulty by Oblak. Atlético's response came 13 minutes later, once again from a long-range effort from Carrasco, who was at a tight angle, but Courtois did well to block the attempt.
The game continued in the same way after the re-start. Ancelotti’s men enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but it was Atlético who carved out the first real opening of the second half when Griezmann drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area, which narrowly missed the far post in the 61st minute. Two minutes later Valverde latched onto a bouncing ball, but he fired his effort off target. The visitors were then reduced to ten men when Correa was given his marching orders after an elbow on Rüdiger, despite their complains. However, rather than let their heads drop, though, Atletico stepped things up as having one of the main players sent off kind of motivated them more to push harder.
As the minutes ticked away Atlético opened the scoring, from a set-piece. Griezmann swung in a free-kick and Giménez rose highest to head the ball into the net on 78’. The madridistas now had it all to do and they almost got back on level terms through Tchouameni (84’) and then Camavinga, but they were both denied by Oblak. The Whites grabbed the equaliser from the resulting corner kick. Modrić floated in a ball which was met by Álvaro who leapt superbly to nod in off the far post to claim his first ever goal on his first-team debut at the Santiago Bernabéu. The hosts piled on the pressure in the closing minutes but couldn’t find the winning goal.
The final whistle after 5 added minutes left Carlo Ancelotti's men & Madridistas frustrated, giving Barcelona on the other hand, a chance to pull even further clear on Sunday evening. One great thing about this game was the great debut of Alvaro Rodriguez in Bernabeu. The 18-year-old Uruguayan entered the pitch 7 minutes from the end and scored the equalizer with a beautiful header. He had been involved in the previous match vs Osasuna with an assist for the 2nd goal. The youth products seems to fit quite well into the team and Ancelotti is looking forward to include him more often.
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