Atletico see red as they secure a draw against rivals

• Real Madrid came from behind to tie 10-man Atletico Madrid 1-1 in the Madrid derby
• Youngster Alvaro Rodriguez secured a point for Real Madrid

Real Madrid came from behind to tie 10-man Atletico Madrid 1-1 in the Madrid derby on Saturday night thanks to a late goal from Alvaro Rodríguez.

14 minutes after Angel Correa was sent for elbowing Antonio Rudiger, Jose Gimenez gave Atletico the lead in the 78th minute. Nevertheless, Rodriguez’s first senior goal for Los Blancos gave the hosts a point.

Alvaro Rodriguez rescues a point for Real Madrid.|PHOTO: CBS|

Carlo Ancelotti’s team now sits in second place in the La Liga standings with 52 points, seven points behind league-leading Barcelona, who would jump out to a 10-point lead with a victory over Almeria on Sunday.

How the game unfolded

Rudiger’s header off a Toni Kroos corner gave Real Madrid an opportunity in the third minute, but it was always going wide of the goalpost.

In the eighth minute, Atletico had their first glimpse of Real Madrid’s goal at the Bernabeu when Yannick Carrasco sent a free kick just wide of the goalpost.

A shot from Marco Asensio, who began on the right side of the Real Madrid front three since Rodrygo was injured, was next blocked by Jan Oblak at the opposite end, and then Karim Benzema turned an Eder Militao cross from close range over the Atletico crossbar.

When Rudiger attempted another header with Los Blancos firmly on the attack, Oblak once more had to be quick to stop the effort. Vinicius Junior’s effort came in the 15th minute.

In the 28th minute, Gimenez, who came on to replace the injured Reinildo, headed a corner from his own teammate Carrasco over the Real Madrid goal.

As the teams headed near the end of the first half, Asensio had another half-chance down the other end, curling one over the crossbar in the 33rd minute.

The last chance of the first half came from Saul Niguez, who shot high off the Real Madrid crossbar. The opening chance of the second half fell to the visitors as Correa failed to capitalize on a cross from Carrasco.

The first opportunity for the home team in the second half fell to Benzema in the 50th minute, but the striker was unable to properly connect with a low cross from Vinicius. Two minutes later, with the Spanish champions beginning to exert some pressure, Valverde shot wide of the Atletico goal.

Atletico see red

Correa was shown red.|PHOTO: CBS|

In the 64th minute of the game, the visitors were reduced to 10 men after Correa, who had only entered the game at halftime, elbowed Rudiger in the chest after an altercation between the two players.

In the 75th minute, Eduardo Camavinga sent a shot over the Atletico crossbar, but three minutes later, the visitors hushed the Bernabeu by seizing the lead.

Gimenez rose higher than everyone else to head a high ball from Griezmann into the Real Madrid penalty area, where it deflected off the post and into the bottom corner of the goal.

The Los Blancos equalized from a corner when Alvaro Rodriguez’s headed a Luka Modric cross into the bottom corner of the goal in his third appearance to score his first goal for the team.

Benzema’s effort was blocked by Oblak in the 87th minute, and during a time when the home team was dominating, the Atletico goalkeeper denied Tchouameni.

What next?

Real Madrid will now turn their focus to the Copa del Rey as they get ready to host Barcelona for the opening leg of their semifinal matchup on Thursday.