Madrid: Atletico Madrid moved top of La Liga table Sunday as Celta Vigo edged Barcelona in a 4-3 thriller, whilst Real Madrid’s run of draws stretched to four against Eibar.
Atletico lead their city rivals on goal difference at the top of the table despite missing two penalties as Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro netted in a 2-0 win at Valencia. However, Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Basque minnows Eibar and were booed off the field by their supporters at the Bernabeu.
Fran Rico headed the visitors into a sixth minute lead before Gareth Bale’s 50th La Liga goal secured a fourth consecutive draw for Real.
“The game is 90 minutes long and lately we have started matches very badly,” said Real boss Zinedine Zidane after the game.
It is the first time Madrid have drawn four successive games since Zidane was a Real player in 2006. “It is not a crisis. It is still October and I am not going to go crazy, but something is wrong. “The only thing I can see we can do is to work harder and play with more intensity,” added the Frenchman.
The European champions badly missed the presence of Luka Modric, who is set to be sidelined for a month after undergoing knee surgery Sunday morning.
Real took almost an hour to get firm control of the game and Cristiano Ronaldo had the chance to snatch the three points but blasted over from point-blank range. A super Bale header also came back off the post and substitute Alvaro Morata had a goal rightly ruled out for offside.
Meanwhile, Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves’s heroics couldn’t deny Atletico as he extended his exceptional penalty record with stops from Griezmann and Gabi either side of the Frenchman’s opener just after the hour mark.
However, Gameiro finally sealed a deserved three points for Atletico in stoppage time.
Agence France-Presse