Atletico drop points at Villarreal

Atletico Madrid dropped two more points in the La Liga title race in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Saturday.

Samuel Lino’s strike after 58 minutes earned Diego Simeone’s team a draw after Villarreal took the lead through a Gerard Moreno first-half penalty at the Metropolitano stadium.

The draw leaves Atletico, second, a point behind rivals Real Madrid who visit bottom of the table Valladolid later Saturday.

On Sunday Barcelona, third, host Valencia, aiming to cut down the Rojiblancos’ six-point advantage on them.

Simeone began with key players Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo de Paul on the bench, rotating his side after their draining Champions League comeback win against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

Atletico, looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat by minnows Leganes which snapped a 15-match winning streak across all competitions, found it hard to break down the visitors in the first half.

Julian Alvarez, in his best form following his move from Manchester City last summer, had a low drive saved well by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior.

The Yellow Submarine took the lead against the run of play when Reinildo Mandava brought down Moreno in the area.

Veteran Spain international Moreno dusted himself down and beat Jan Oblak from the spot, although the Slovenian stopper dived the right way.

Atletico pulled level before the hour mark when Lino bundled home at the back post after Angel Correa’s improvised backheel effort was deflected by Luiz Junior into his path.

Substitutes De Paul and Griezmann combined for a chance to win Atletico the game late on but the former’s cross was headed off-target by the latter.

Villarreal, fifth, trail Barcelona and fourth-place Athletic Bilbao by five points.

AFP