Atletico held to draw at Rayo Vallecano

Atletico held to draw at Rayo Vallecano

Atletico Madrid dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in La Liga, falling to fourth in La Liga.

Diego Simeone’s side are still unbeaten but now trail leaders Barcelona by six points after six games, as the Catalans romped to a 5-1 win at Villarreal.

Conor Gallagher secured Atletico a draw at Rayo’s Vallecas stadium after Isi Palazon put the hosts ahead in a Madrid derby clash.

Atletico’s star summer signing Julian Alvarez hit the bar with a long-range effort in the first half but Rayo were on top.

Palazon slammed home from close range from Andrei Ratiu’s cross after 35 minutes and the goal was eventually given after initially being ruled offside.

However Gallagher finished neatly from the edge of the box early in the second half after Alexander Sorloth fed the England international.

“It’s a difficult place to go, we know how Rayo put the pressure on,” Atletico captain Koke told Movistar.

“(At half-time Simeone) told us we all had to run, these days anyone who is not running here cannot play.

“We had chances to get the winner but it wasn’t to be.”

Athletic Bilbao overtook Atletico to move into third with a 3-1 win against Celta Vigo earlier Sunday, a point behind second-place Real Madrid who thrashed Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday.

John Stones and Bernardo Silva took a blistering swipe at “dirty” Arsenal’s dark arts and taunted them for their lack of trophies after their title rivalry exploded during a stormy clash at the Etihad Stadium.

On a day of controversy and high drama, the 10 men of Arsenal came within seconds of becoming the first Premier League team to win at the Etihad Stadium for almost two years only for Stones’ 98th minute equaliser to snatch a last gasp 2-2 draw for the champions.

Arsenal adopted an ultra-defensive approach in the second half after Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card on the cusp of half-time for kicking the ball away to the fury of manager Mikel Arteta.

It almost paid off before Stones’ dramatic intervention but City were left furious by what they felt were Arsenal’s time-wasting and deliberate attempts to disrupt the rhythm of the game by running down the clock.

“There was only one team that came to play football,” said Bernardo, who was pictured making an ‘O’ gesture with his hands, which could have been in reference to the trophies won by the two sides. “The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.”

“The difference [between City’s rivalry with Arsenal and with Liverpool]? I don’t know. Maybe that Liverpool have already won a Premier League – Arsenal haven’t. That Liverpool have won a Champions League, Arsenal haven’t.

“Liverpool always faced us face-to-face to try to win the games, so by this perspective the games against Arsenal haven’t been like the ones we had and have against Liverpool. So yes, maybe a different rivalry.”