Atletico Madrid misplaced early floor to Barcelona of their quest for the LaLiga title as they had been held to a 1-1 draw with metropolis rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
The guests withstood an early spell of stress and nearly took the lead in gorgeous trend when Julian Alvarez’s strike from distance cannoned off the crossbar.
However Diego Simeone’s facet discovered themselves a purpose down within the thirty fifth minute when Isi Palazon turned house Raul de Tomas’ cross after good work from Jorge de Frutos.
Nevertheless, parity was restored 4 minutes after the break when Conor Gallagher struck past Augusto Batalla from the sting of the realm to internet his second purpose in as many video games for his new membership.
Atletico continued to push for a winner, with Alvarez and Angel Correa going shut, however Rayo Vallecano had been capable of maintain agency for the closing exchanges.
The end result leaves Simeone’s facet in fourth place, six factors behind league leaders Barcelona who thumped Villarreal 5-1 earlier within the day.
Empate en Vallecas. pic.twitter.com/0jB33tixR4
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) September 22, 2024
Knowledge Debrief: Gallagher embracing superior function
Having solely scored 10 objectives in 90 appearances for Chelsea, Gallagher is flourishing beneath Simeone’s stewardship in Spain.
Through the contest, solely Koke and Alvarez (each 14) made extra passes into the ultimate third than Gallagher (11), along with his strike coming from an anticipated objectives (xG) whole of simply 0.06.
However the England worldwide didn’t neglect his defensive tasks. Gallagher received extra tackles (4) than anybody on the pitch, whereas additionally successful three fouls.
