🇪🇸 Atleti rally to deny Madrid victory in dramatic and volatile derby

Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid played out a dramatic 1-1 draw inside a volatile atmosphere on Sunday.

Scorers: Correa 90+5'; Militão 64'. Red: Llorente 90+9'

All eyes were on the Spanish capital, and a record-breaking crowd of 70,112 at the Metropolitano were treated to a cagey, scrappy affair that eventually required a temporary pause in play.

Without an injured Kylian Mbappé, more pressure mounted on Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham. Meanwhile, Julián Alvarez started alongside Antoine Griezmann after his recent heroics off the bench.

The Argentine called former Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into action at his near post in the first half before Federico Valverde had a crack from range denied by Jan Oblak.

With more combined fouls (12) than shots on target (four), the score remained 0-0 at half-time. A set-piece was eventually required to break the deadlock before fan chaos ensued.

Luka Modrić opted not to go for a goal and picked out Vinícius on the left, who whizzed a cross into the box. The ball found Éder Militão at the back post and the defender volleyed home off former Real Madrid player Marcos Llorente for his first of the season.

Minutes later, fans grabbed everyone's attention after throwing lighters and other objects at Courtois. The referee suspended the game and both teams exited the pitch in the 68th minute. Koke and Atleti manager Diego Simeone were seen pleading with supporters to stop.

The match eventually resumed after about 15 minutes, and while the fan disruption calmed, the atmosphere remained volatile. Atleti, however, continued throwing waves of attack forward, and in the dying moments, Ángel Correa's surging run and finish was confirmed a goal by VAR.

Additionally, Llorente was sent off for a rash challenge seconds before the full-time whistle.

The result means Real Madrid sit three points behind leaders Barcelona while Atleti are third and five points back.