Soccer

Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser in Madrid derby means champions Real maintain top spot

Julian Alvarez put Atletico in front in the first half with a Panenka-style penalty.

Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid was his 16th LaLiga goal of the season (Manu Fernandez/AP)
Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid was his 16th LaLiga goal of the season (Manu Fernandez/AP) (Manu Fernandez/AP)
By PA Sport staff

Real Madrid stayed a point ahead of Atletico Madrid at the top of LaLiga as Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser earned the champions a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s derby at the Bernabeu.

Julian Alvarez had put Atletico in front in the 35th minute with a Panenka-style penalty awarded via VAR, with Aurelien Tchouameni adjudged to have fouled Samuel Lino.

Mbappe levelled five minutes into the second half, firing in his 16th league goal of the season.

Oihan Sanchez notched a hat-trick, started with a penalty, as fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao won 3-0 at home against Girona, while Villarreal, in fifth, were 2-1 victors at Las Palmas.

Earlier, Celta Vigo fought back from 2-0 down to triumph 3-2 at home against Real Betis, with Williot Swedberg netting an 87th-minute winner.

In the Bundesliga, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen were left eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich after being held to a 0-0 draw at Wolfsburg.

Borussia Dortmund’s first match under new boss Niko Kovac ended in defeat as they were beaten 2-1 by Stuttgart at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund fell behind through Waldemar Anton’s 50th-minute own goal and Jeff Chabot added a second for Stuttgart just past the hour. The hosts replied courtesy of Julian Brandt before having Julian Ryerson sent off late on.

Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach, Freiburg are up to sixth after winning 1-0 at home against Heidenheim, Mainz battled out a goalless draw with Augsburg and Benedict Hollerbach’s double helped Union Berlin to a 4-0 victory at Hoffenheim.

In Serie A, Mateo Retegui hit four goals for Atalanta in a 5-0 victory at Verona. The win put them four points behind table-toppers Napoli and one behind second-placed Inter Milan ahead of those sides playing on Sunday and Monday respectively.

AC Milan moved up a place to seventh with a 2-0 win at Empoli after having Fikayo Tomori sent off in the 55th minute.

Empoli’s Luca Marianucci was dismissed 10 minutes later, after which Milan swiftly took the lead via Rafael Leao, with Santiago Gimenez then adding the visitors’ second.

Torino and Genoa shared the points as they drew 1-1 at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.

In Ligue 1, Nice are up to third following a 2-0 home win over Lens, who lost Facundo Medina to a red card between the hosts’ two goals.

Le Havre moved off the foot of the table with a 2-1 triumph at Lille, their first victory since November, and Rennes rose from 15th to 11th with a 2-0 win at 16th-placed St Etienne.