Teenage forward Alvaro Rodriguez came off the bench to rescue Real Madrid in a dramatic 1-1 derby draw with 10-man Atletico Madrid, heading a late equaliser to cancel out Jose Gimenez’s goal.
Despite half-time substitute Angel Correa controversially seeing red for a push on Antonio Rudiger, Atleti looked set for a famous win at Santiago Bernabeu when Gimenez headed them into the lead with 12 minutes left.
However, 18-year-old Alvaro rose to nod Luka Modric’s corner beyond Jan Oblak with five minutes remaining, scoring his first senior goal for Los Blancos in dramatic fashion.
While Madrid will be relieved to have avoided a surprise defeat, they are now seven points adrift of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who could extend that gap to 10 points when they visit Almeria on Sunday.
Madrid created several half-chances early on, Marco Asensio forcing Jan Oblak into an awkward stop before Karim Benzema sent two wild efforts over the crossbar.
Atleti’s task was made all the more daunting after 64 minutes, and Diego Simeone’s men could feel hard done-by as Correa was controversially dismissed for an innocuous push to Rudiger’s chest on the halfway line.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Atleti continued to contain Madrid before hitting the front from a deep free-kick, Gimenez glancing Antoine Griezmann’s delivery home.
However, another set-piece was to prove crucial as the hosts provided one final twist, Alvaro heading Modric’s cross into the bottom-right corner to ensure the spoils were shared.
