Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid cancelled each other out during the Madrid derby which benefitted Barcelona more than either side.
Jose Maria Gimenez’s opening goal in the second half was matched by Alvaro Rodriguez just minutes later as both teams settled for a point at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real, coming into the contest after hammering Liverpool in the Champions League, controlled the game from the start but failed to break down Atletico’s vaunted defensive shape.
Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio all had half-chances to score but could not find a way past Jan Oblak going into half-time.
The pattern repeated in the second period and the home side was given a major break when Angel Correa was sent off for elbowing Antonio Rudiger in the 64th minute. Despite their numerical advantage, the home side failed to create any clear openings.
Their profligacy was punished in the 78th minute when Jiminez connected with Antoine Griezmann’s freekick and fired a header past Thibaut Courtois.
Real’s equaliser finally came in the 85th minute through an unlikely source as 18-year-old Álvaro met Luka Modric’s corner to head his team level, becoming the youngest scorer in the Madrid derby in the process.
The Madrid derby draw does not favour either Atletico or Real Madrid as both fall further behind in their goals.
Real currently sit second in the league table with 52 points, seven behind leaders Barcelona who can make it a 10-point difference with a win over lowly Almeria next.
Atletico remains 4th with 42 points.
