Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Suspended Due to Crowd Trouble

Real Madrid’s all-intense La Liga fixture against fierce rivals Atletico Madrid was temporarily suspended after objects were thrown towards the former’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, in the 69th minute as he attempted to take a goal-kick.

With Los Blancos, who were faring well without the talismanic Kylian Mbappe, one goal to the good against their foes, thanks to a 64th-minute goal from central defender Eder Militao, play was halted by the man in the middle, Busquets Ferrer, who believed that play could not continue.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men, had they held out for a victory tonight, would have been a singular point behind Barcelona in the Spanish top flight standings, while Diego Simeone and Co are now sat just two points – rather than five – behind their capital club rivals with just four wins from eight outings in the division.

Madrid Derby Suspended After Objects Thrown at Courtois

Koke and Simeone pleaded with fans to prevent permanent postponement

Once the referee had spoken to both Ancelotti and Simeone, both sets of players were taken back into their respective changing rooms in an attempt to cool down the tense atmosphere from the home fans – but while waiting for official updates, they stayed in the changing rooms for around 20 minutes.

Atletico veteran Koke and boss Simeone were seen pleading with their home contingent to stop as, according to reports, fans have been informed that, should they fail to stop misbehaving, the all-Madrid encounter could have been permanently stopped.

Simeone, one of the longest-serving managers in Europe’s top 10 leagues, also consoled a visibly upset Courtois, who was booed once all 22 men returned to the field of play to continue proceedings at the Metropolitano Stadium.

The reason behind why the Atletico supporters were so upset with the Belgian shot-stopper was because he yelled at them after Militao opened the scoring just minutes earlier before an array of objects – one reportedly being a lighter – were launched in his direction.

As shown by the footage below, the ex-Chelsea man celebrated right in front of the home fans and seemingly cheered “Vamos!” as the travelling supporters’ section of the stadium erupted into chaos in the wake of bagging the affair’s first strike.

Angel Correa Nets Late Equaliser in Madrid Derby

Ancelotti and Simeone enjoy a share of the spoils

As mentioned, Ancelotti and his entourage were forced to line up without Mbappe – who was ruled out of the encounter with an injury – leading their line. The French marksman’s absence, however, did not wane Ancelotti’s expectations to walk away with anything less than three points.

Atletico’s Angel Correa had other plans as the diminutive Argentine notched a goal in the 96th minute to shock the Italian boss and his players before Marcos Llorente was given his marching orders with minutes left to play after a cynical challenge on Francisco Garcia.

Real Madrid have continued their La Liga unbeaten streak – five wins and three draws in their opening eight outings. That said, they are still one point off the pace of Hansi Flick and Co in Barcelona and will be looking to take their momentum into their next fixture against Villarreal.