Thibaut Courtois caught the eye against his former side Atletico Madrid, as Real Madrid were held to a draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, failing to capitalize Barca's slip up once again.
2018/2019 La Liga
0-0
Match Events
3' CHANCE! Saul's shot saved
SAVE! Atletico move the ball well in the final third and Saul lines up a strike from distance. He connects well with his effort, only to be denied by a good save from Courtois.
18' Courtois denies Griezmann with close stop
CHANCE! GRIEZMANN HAS TO SCORE!! Koke releases the run of Griezmann into the final third. The Frenchman only has to beat Courtois to put the visitors into the lead. Griezmann surges into the box, but Courtois comes off his line to narrow the angle and make the crucial stop to deny the forward.
31: Filipe Luis sends the ball over the top of the Madrid defence for Koke's run. The midfielder forces the ball into the middle, but Casemiro is there to make the block behind for a corner. Atletico appeal for a penalty for handball against the Brazilian, but the referee dismisses their claim.
37: Another Courtois SAVE!
Griezmann releases the run of Costa into the box. The striker beats Varane for pace and only has Courtois to beat. However, he takes a poor first touch that takes him away from the net and his eventual effort is saved by the body of the Madrid keeper. Another opportunity spurned for the visitors.
59' NO penalty! Benzema brought down in the box
66' Oblak denies Asensio with decent save
SAVE! For the first time in the game Madrid open up their rivals at the back. Kroos slides a pass to the back post for Asensio. The Spaniard only has Oblak to beat, but the Atletico keeper spreads himself to make a vital block, sending the ball behind for a corner.
77. Another OBLAK SAVE!
Madrid string several passes together on the edge of the box to lay up an opportunity for Carvajal to run forward and hit. The full-back goes for power, but sees his effort beaten away by Oblak.
Match Report
Real Madrid dropped points in LaLiga for the second match in succession after they were held to a 0-0 draw by bitter rivals Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Julen Lopetegui's men were hoping to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Sevilla, but their performance in El Derbi was not hugely improved and they had to rely on Thibaut Courtois' excellence on several occasions just to get a draw.
Atletico looked significantly more dangerous in attack during the first half and only failed to take the lead because of Courtois' efforts, denying Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa in one-on-one situations.
Madrid withdrew Gareth Bale at half-time, the Welshman suffering a suspected thigh injury, but edged proceedings in the second period and attacked desperately towards the end, though they wasted their rare chances and Atletico held on to a deserved point.
The visitors had much more about them going forward in the first half and Courtois – facing his former side for the first time since returning to LaLiga – was kept busy.
Saul Niguez first tested him from 25 yards with a stinging drive, before the Belgian raced off his line to thwart Griezmann.
Courtois also got the better of Costa in a similar situation eight minutes before the break, with Griezmann releasing the Spain striker with a defence-splitting ball.
Bale's replacement Dani Ceballos injected some much-needed energy to the Madrid's attack and they should have gone ahead in the 65th minute, only for Jan Oblak to make a save at the feet of Marco Asensio following Toni Kroos' fine pass.
Seemingly frustrated by their team's struggles in front of goal, the home fans began chanting Cristiano Ronaldo's name towards the end, and a debut for 18-year-old Brazilian Vinicius Junior could not inspire a breakthrough.
Line-ups
Real Madrid XI: Sergio Ramos, L. Modrić, Benzema, Bale, T. Kroos, T. Courtois, Casemiro, Nacho, Daniel Carvajal, R. Varane, Marco Asensio
Subs: K. Navas, Lucas Vázquez, M.Díaz, M.Llorente, Ceballos, Reguilón, Vinícius Júnior
Atletico XI: Juanfran, Filipe Luis, D. Godín, Diego Costa, Jan Oblak, A. Griezmann, Saúl, Koke, T. Lemar, J. Giménez, R.Hernández
Subs: N. Kalinić, Antonio Adán, S. Arias, Vitolo, T.Partey, Correa, L. Hernández