La Liga: Madrid derby ends 1-1 after crowd disruption

Real Madrid were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Monday (AEST) at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Goalless at the break, the match burst into life in the second half when Real’s Eder Militao scored a sumptuous volley after some brilliant work by fellow Brazilian star Vinicius Jr.

One of the biggest talking points of the derby, however, came midway through the second half when the match was halted for 15 minutes — with players forced to return to their locker rooms — after objects were hurled at Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by a section of Atletico fans.

Matters escalated at the Metropolitano, forcing Atleti manager Diego Simeone and senior players Jose Maria Gimenez and Koke Resurrección to calm the fans behind Courtois’ goal.

At one point, there were discussions about suspending the match, with Real Madrid awarded all three points if the hooliganism continued.

Nevertheless, the match resumed and the hosts equalised deep into injury time through Argentine forward Angel Correa.

Although Atletico’s Marcos Llorente was shown a red card in the 99th minute, Real had no time to capitalise.

La Liga will assuredly launch an inquest, with punishment potentially meted out to Atletico.

Speaking after the match, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti remained calm despite the ugly scenes.

“I’m just a coach. I’m only in charge of the sporting things, everything else is up to other people to take the right decisions,” he said.

“I focus on the positives. We’ve taken a point against a good team. We’re in good form. We’re already thinking about Wednesday.”

Meanwhile, Simeone spoke against hooliganism.

“The club must not allow these things to happen,” the Atletico boss said.

“The club should decide if they come to the stadium, it’s not good for us. The one who throws, doesn’t come again and also sanction those who look to the fans.”

A draw on the road means the champions are second on the table with 18 points — two ahead of third-placed Atletico and three behind league leaders Barcelona.

Real Madrid will face Lille on Thursday morning in the Champions League, and top sports betting sites are paying -178.57 for the holders to beat the Ligue 1 side (+473).

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have a Champions League bout with Benfica, with online bookmakers backing Atleti (+143) to defeat their hosts (+199).

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