Atleti equalise late, Bilbao beat Valencia
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| AFP |
Luciano Vietto's first goal for Atletico Madrid seven minutes from time earned the hosts a deserved share of the spoils against Real Madrid in a 1-1 draw on Sunday. KReal looked on course to move top of Spain's La Liga thanks to Karim Benzema's fine early header in an otherwise insipid display from Rafael Benitez's men.
Keylor Navas produced a fine save from Antoine Griezmann's first-half penalty, but the Costa Rican international was beaten for just the second time this season when Vietto bundled the ball home from close range. And only a spectacular save from Navas prevented Jackson Martinez snatching all three points for Atletico in stoppage time.
Earlier, Villarreal missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table as they were beaten 1-0 at Levante. Villarreal were reduced to ten men on 35 minutes when Bojan Jokic saw a straight red card for a high challenge on Ivan Lopez. The visitors held out until seven minutes from time when Brazilian striker Deyverson converted Nabil El Ghilas's cross to take Levante off the foot of the table.
The pressure on Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santo was increased as his side blew a 1-0 lead to lose 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao. And Real Betis moved up to eighth as goals in either half from Heiko Westermann and Ruben Castro handed them a 2-0 win at Rayo Vallecano.