Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid’s thrilling 1-1 draw kept Real Madrid three points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Neither Los Blancos nor their neighbours have lost at home thus far this season.

 

 

 

Both teams were unable to gain the upper hand in a close first half. The visitors were unable to come up with any obvious options, so they turned to long shots. Julian Alvarez of the hosts, meanwhile, only momentarily threatened Real Madrid’s goal.

 

 

 

Just after the hour mark, the visitors finally broke the deadlock with a goal from Eder Militao, breaking the match’s seemingly inevitable deadlock. After getting loose down the left side of the field, Vinicius Jr chipped the ball towards the back post, where Militao was poised to capitalise on a deflected effort.

 

 

Carlo Ancelotti’s brilliant team nearly escaped the Wanda Metropolitano with all three points, but Diego Simeone’s men let in their first home league goal of the season. In the end, the rewards were shared thanks to a late equaliser scored by substitute Angel Correa. After a tense match in the Spanish capital, we present below player ratings and key moments.

 

Thibaut Courtois – 6/10

It was a quiet night for the Belgian shot-stopper until the final 10 minutes. The defensive unit in front of him limited Atletico to very few chances, with the majority of Courtois’ work coming from long-range efforts.

Dani Carvajal – 5/10

caught a few times in a situation where he had to choose between trailing the runner on the wing and reversing into middle. Carvajal struggled without the ball but was solid when he had it.

Antonio Rudiger – 6/10

was defeated by Alvarez way too easily in the first half, but Courtois’s poor save saved him. After that, Rudiger found his composure again and played a rather calm game. could have done a better job tracking Correa’s run for the game-winning goal.

Eder Militao – 8/10

Broke the deadlock when the game looked destined for a stalemate. His well-taken volley was too powerful for Oblak to deny. The Brazilian defender was assured and confident in his work in front of Courtois as well.

Ferland Mendy – 6/10

Made a couple of key blocks when the hosts looked threatening from long range. Mendy didn’t have too much to deal with until a late barrage from the home side.

Federico Valverde – 7/10

The energetic Uruguayan popped up in almost every position imaginable, whether it be in the middle of his own box to block an opposing player’s shot, or galivanting up the right wing to provide additional attacking support.

Luka Modric – 5/10

Walked the tight-rope after picking up a first-half booking for a late challenge on Gallagher. His passing and intelligent movement haven’t slowed down, although the Croatian certainly tired in the latter stages.

Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10

A routine evening in the middle of the park for the French international. His composed passing kept playing ticking along as he allowed the more attack-minded midfielders to get forward and threaten the opposition’s goal.

Jude Bellingham – 6/10

Many expected him to take up an advanced role with Los Blancos’ lack of a recognised number nine, but Bellingham was often seen drifting into deeper positions to pick the ball up from the defence to start attacking moves.

Rodrygo – 6/10

Throughout the derby, Rodrygo was the closest Real Madrid had to a classic center-forward since he frequently shifted into the number nine position while Valverde was continually overlapping on the right. found it difficult to make a big difference inside the Atleti penalty area.

Vinicius Jr – 7/10

Along with his compatriot, Vinicius Jr. was burdened with a lot of the attacking responsibility in Kylian Mbappe’s absence, just as he did in the previous season. Drifting inside and using his direct dribbling ability, the Brazil international caused many problems for the opposition and had defenders on their toes throughout.

SUB – Lucas Vazquez – N/A

Failed to help to see out the match in the closing stages, although barely touched the ball after replacing Modric.

SUB – Endrick – N/A

Brought on with just a few minutes left in the game. The youngster almost sealed the victory with a powerful effort after immediately flying into a brave tackle.

SUB – Fran Garcia – N/A

Another late arrival who was given little time to show what he could do.

 

Man of the Match

Eder Militao

 

It’s hard to look past the goalscorer for the away side when naming the Player of the Match. Eder Militao fired home a vital goal that could really kick-start Real Madrid’s title defence as they looked to capitalise on Barcelona’s slip-up against Osasuna.

The centre-back’s incredible speed and awareness meant he didn’t find himself in too many challenging defensive positions, and he took his goal well. Marcos Llorente had a strong game but just missed out on the award after being dismissed in the dying stages for a poor challenge.