Madrid dominates tense derby but draws with Atleti
Real Madrid remains one point clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid at the top of LaLiga after the two sides played out another tense 1-1 draw in their highly-anticipated derby at Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti's hosts knew they had to at least draw to maintain their position at the top of the table, and thanks to an improved second-half performance and an equaliser from Kylian Mbappe, they did just that.
But having fired off nine shots on Atletico's goal while the visitors managed only one, it will likely be a frustrating result to digest for Madrid.
Julian Alvarez put Atleti ahead with that one shot on target from the spot after a penalty was awarded in controversial fashion in the first half.
Samuel Lino had gone down in the box under a challenge from Aurelien Tchouameni just on the half-hour mark, but the passage of play was allowed to continue until Pablo Barrios fired over the bar from distance.
The video assistant referee then called his on field counterpart to look at Tchouameni's challenge on the pitchside monitor, after which the Frenchman was deemed to have stepped on Lino's foot illegally.
Julian Alvarez applied a dinked finish from the spot down the centre of Thibaut Courtois's goal to put the visitors in front amid furious complaints from Los Blancos as Ancelotti put his face in his hands in disbelief.
The Italian coach sent his players out for the second period with renewed vigour.
Within five minutes of the restart, they were level through Mbappe, who was first to react after Jude Bellingham's close-range effort had been blocked, firing into the back of the net on 50 minutes.
Bellingham should have put Madrid ahead just two minutes later, but his header from Vinicius Junior's cross hit the bar and bounced away to safety.
The England star again had a chance to head his side into the lead five minutes later, but directed that effort straight at Jan Oblak, who made the first of a string of excellent saves to keep Atletico in the contest to the final whistle.
While the result will disappoint both sides, third-placed Barcelona won't mind at all and can now close the gap to the top two if it beats Sevilla away from home on Monday (AEDT).
It's tight at the top where Madrid sits with 50 points, while Atletico has 49 and Barca, if it wins at Sevilla, will have 48.
