Atletico Madrid were involved in a fiery end-to-end clash with Getafe. The first half saw six goals being scored, and Atleti had the last laugh with the final goal just inside 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Real Madrid could only manage a goalless draw away from home against Villarreal.
Los Rojiblancos shook off last weekend’s painful defeat to Barcelona to momentarily get ahead of them in the Liga table with a thrilling last-gasp win against Getafe. The intense clash at the Wanda Metropolitano had it all – yellow cards, three penalties, plenty of goals, late drama, lead changes, a red card – you name it.
A frenzied first-half saw six goals evenly split between both sides with the lead exchanging hands on multiple occasions. Luis Suarez saw his penalty kick being saved by David Soria, but Atleti were 2-0 up inside the first 30 minutes thanks to goals from Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha.
The defending La Liga champions then suffered multiple calamities as Borja Mayoral and a double strike from 12 yards by Eres Unal not only brought Getafe level but also gave them the lead. However, Angel Correa equalised in the final few minutes of the first half.
Atletico suffered another massive blow when defender Felip saw his marching orders after a high foot on Mauro Arambarri. As a result, Diego Simeone had to shuffle his cards, and he brought on Mario Hermoso.
Hermoso proved to be the hero of the night for the reigning champions as he scored in the 89th minute to give the Rojiblancos a desperate and much-needed win which keeps them momentarily in the top four.
Elsewhere, Gareth Bale made his comeback from injury and started a match for Real Madrid for the first time since last August. However, he was unable to celebrate his return as the table-toppers were held to a goalless draw at the Madrigal stadium.
Both sides came close to scoring, with Bale and Villarreal’s Arnaut Danjuma striking the woodwork in each half. Geronimo Rulli was at the top of his game and made several crucial saves throughout the match.
Real are now four points ahead of Sevilla at the top of the La Liga table. They have an important mid-week Champions League clash scheduled against Paris Saint-Germain.
