Karim Benzema's early goal looked set to give the visitors victory,
particularly after Keylor Navas had saved a penalty from Antoine
Griezmann, but Atleti were not to be deniedLuciano Vietto's first goal
forAtletico Madridsecured a 1-1 derby draw seven minutes from time and
stoppedReal Madridfrom moving to the top of La Liga.Karim Benzema
headed his seventh goal in eight appearances this season in the ninth
minute and looked to have settled a typically feisty tussle at the
Vicente Calderon, where his France international team-mate Antoine
Griezmann had a first-half penalty saved forthe hosts.Griezmann partly
atoned for that error by having a hand in the equaliser – making
enough of a nuisance of himself at the near post for Jackson
Martinez's low cross to squirm beyond goalkeeper Keylor Navas for his
fellow substitute Vietto to convert from close range.Vietto's former
club Villarreal lost 1-0 to Levante earlier on Sunday, presenting the
opportunity for Real to take top spot.But Rafael Benitez's team could
not get over the line and lie a point off the pace in secondafter
extending their winless run at the home of their near neighbours to
six matches.Loading...Cristiano Ronaldo headed wide early on from Luca
Modric's left-wing cross but it was from the opposite flank that Real
took the lead.Dani Carvajal surged down the wing to supply an
excellent cross thatBenzema, who had scored just twice in 20 previous
appearances against Atleti, planted emphatically past Jan
Oblak.Atleti's response was strong, with a fired-up Angel Correa to
the fore.Making his first Liga start, the midfielder collected an
one-two from Oliver Torres to arrow a shot past the post from the
right-hand side of the box before sending a thunderous drive wide from
30 yards.Some ragged Real defending gifted Atleti a golden opportunity
to equalise from the spot in the 20th minute – Sergio Ramos briefly
looked to have retrieved the situation but took a heavy touch and
clattered through Tiago.But Griezmann's well-struck effort was at a
favourable height for Navas, who sprung to his left and pushed the
ball to safety.A well-marshalled Ronaldo swivelled to shoot over after
the half-hour mark, while a robust challenge on Carvajal from Oliver
Torres forced Real to bring Alvaro Arbeloa on before the
break.Fernando Torres was played in by Correa five minutes into the
second period but pulled an angled shot across the face of goal.The
former Liverpool striker then had an attempt blocked before making way
for JacksonMartinez in the 64th minute.A succession of fouls by both
teams had badly interrupted the flow of the game by this point, with
Real duo Raphael Varane and Casemiro booked either side of Juanfran to
make it three yellow cards in as many minutes.Gareth Bale followed
Martinez into the Calderon cauldron, replacing Isco for his first Real
action since suffering a calf injury against Shakhtar Donetsk last
month.Navas saved from Martinez in the 74th minute when Vietto found a
Real body with his initial shot, while an unusually sporadic display
from Ronaldo continued when he cut onto his left foot to find the side
netting.Viettoappeared crestfallen when he wasted a good headed chance
in the 81st minute but the Argentine made amends three minutes later –
his compatriot Diego Simeone leading the boisterous celebrations from
the dugout before Martinez was denied by Navas as the hosts almost
snatched another famous triumph.
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