VAR 'rescues' Atleti against Real Madrid in a derby threatened with suspension (0-1)

The Cívitas Metropolitano witnessed a night full of emotions this Sunday, September 29. Atlético de Madrid hosted Real Madrid in a very 'heated' derby, where both teams could barely make up for it and ended up sharing the points thanks to goals from Militao and Ángel Correa. The match was also close to being suspended due to a clash between Thibaut Courtois and the Atlético fans.

On the field of play at the red-and-white home ground, both teams barely managed to make up for it. The first 45 minutes passed without pain or glory, with a shot from outside the area by Fede Valverde being the highlight of a sleepy first half. However, the revolutions would increase in the second half with a more proactive Atleti, and when the merengues were celebrating the victory with a goal from Eder Militao, Ángel Correa was in charge of 'spoiling' the party in the 96th minute.

The match could have been suspended

However, controversy was not absent in the derby. An embarrassing and regrettable spectacle was experienced in the middle of the match, when in the 69th minute of the duel, Busquets Ferrer was forced to stop the match due to the throwing of objects from the South End at the goal of Real Madrid and Thibaut Courtois, who had previously provoked the fans by celebrating Militao's goal with gestures to the stands.

⚠️ Simeone and Koke ask Atlético fans to stop throwing objects to Courtois… as the game has been currently suspended. pic.twitter.com/0n3deNrwln

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2024

While 'Cholo' Simeone, Gimenez and several Atletico Madrid players went to the back of the pitch to calm their fans and ask them to stop throwing objects, the rest of the players went to the changing rooms for ten minutes. Through the megaphones of the Cívitas Metropolitano, Atleti announced that if the behaviour did not stop, the match would be permanently suspended. However, tempers calmed down and the match was able to continue as normal.

Marcos Llorente was sent off in the final minutes, but the Whites barely had any chances to take advantage of their superiority on the pitch and drew thanks to the VAR, which intervened to do justice and validate Correa's goal that, in principle, had been disallowed for offside. For its part, FC Barcelona is smiling with this result, as it maintains a distance of 3 points over the Merengues and 5 over the Colchoneros despite having been defeated by Osasuna last Saturday.

Match details: Atlético de Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid

• Atlético de Madrid: Oblak; Molina (Koke, m. 46), Le Normand, Giménez, Reinildo (Galán, m. 75); Llorente, Gallagher (Correa, m. 70), De Paul; Julián Alvarez (Riquelme, m. 75), Griezmann y Sorloth (Lino, m. 56).
• Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militao (Vallejo, m. 80), Mendy; Tchouaméni, Valverde, Modric (Vázquez, m. 86), Bellingham; Rodrygo (F. García, m. 90+1) y Vinicius Jr. (Endrick, m. 87).
• Referee: Busquets Ferrer.
• Incidents: Match corresponding to Matchday 8 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25
• Goals: 1-0, Eder Militao (min.64); 1-1, Ángel Correa (min. 90+6).