MADRID: Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa bundled home an equaliser deep into added time against Real Madrid to snatch a 1-1 draw on Sunday in a nervy La Liga derby that was suspended for just over 20 minutes after the home fans hurled objects onto the pitch.

The game was stopped in the 69th, five minutes after defender Eder Militao opened the scoring for the visitors, as Atletico ultras Fondo Sur threw objects towards Real’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who alerted the referee.

Courtois after the match was diagnosed with a hip injury and will be out for a couple of weeks.

After a delay of over 20 minutes the players returned to the pitch and Atletico piled on the pressure before levelling the scores when substitute Correa forced the ball home from close range after a counter attack in the fifth minute of added time.

Real are second in the standings on 18 points, three behind Barcelona and two ahead of Atletico in third after eight games.

“These are matches with a lot of tension, a lot of intensity,” Atletico captain Koke told DAZN regarding the objects being thrown onto the field.

“It was a very tense moment. This can’t happen on a football pitch. We are footballers, professionals, and we have to be intelligent. But four people can’t pay for the rest of the stadium.”

Missing key forward Kylian Mbappe with a leg injury, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti opted to strengthen the midfield by bringing in Luka Modric, who is approaching 40.

The result was a more balanced side that controlled most of the game but failed to turn their dominance into goals.

Jude Bellingham played as an attacking midfielder while Uruguayan Federico Valverde was handed the playmaker role in the centre of the pitch.

Acting like a ball magnet, practically all Real’s dangerous moves came through the feet of Valverde, who distributed the ball to Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo or Bellingham up front or launched long-range right-foot rockets at goal himself.

Valverde almost scored for Real three times in a first half in which the defensive home side had hardly any counter attacks.

Atletico were livelier after the break when manager Diego Simeone brought on Brazilian jet-heeled winger Samuel Lino who gave them the spark they lacked in the first half.

But just as the hosts looked closer to scoring, Vinicius Jr burst past Rodrigo De Paul on the left wing and crossed to the far post where the unmarked Militao brought the ball down before unleashing an unstoppable half-volley past keeper Jan Oblak.

As dozens of lighters and bottles started flying onto the pitch when Real’s players celebrated the goal, referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer halted the match and ordered the players to go to the dressing rooms as the stadium announcer warned that if the behaviour continued the game would be abandoned.

After the delay the match resumed and Atletico kept up the pressure which paid off in the extra time.

Substitute Javi Galan’s pass pierced the middle of Reals defence and Correa took the ball in his stride before running past Courtois and tapping into the empty net to salvage a point for Simeone’s side.

Atletico finished the match with 10 men after Marcos Llorente was sent off for a tackle from behind on Fran Garcia.

“We were very close to winning but this can happen, the opponent is very strong,” said Ancelotti. “I always think positively, not negatively, I think that we’ve gained a point on the leaders.

Elsewhere, Real Betis beat Espanyol 1-0, Sevilla rescued a late draw at Athletic Bilbao and Girona drew 1-1 at Celta Vigo.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2024