In a tense, bustling match both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid enjoyed a small number of openings but found stubborn defences in their way as the capital clubs’ difficulties in front of goal continued.
The game started rather worryingly for Real Madrid with signs that the hosts were the more physically and mentally aware team, not least as Raphael Varane sloppily handed possession to Angel Correa to run at goal and shoot off target from a wonderful position just 150 seconds in.
Shortly after, a sniff of a counter-attack for Cristiano Ronaldo was snuffed out by a great burst of pace from Juanfran of all people, easily extinguishing the winger’s threat to great applause.
With chances hard to come by in the first period, big tackles from Dani Carvajal and Stefan Savic made amends and kept up the temperature in the aftermath of Correa’s rather rude act of drilling of the ball at Karim Benzema’s head while the Frenchman lay prone on the ground.
However Los Blancos were able to get in behind via Toni Kroos’ delicious double one-two which he couldn’t finish off with a dinked effort on 31 minutes.
Ronaldo’s first chance was to come soon after, whipping a free-kick towards the bottom corner from long-range, which Oblak comfortably parried away. The resultant corner was eventually reloaded into the box for Sergio Ramos to stoop low and head wide from inside the six-yard box.
Like Kroos before him, the Real captain propositioned referee David Fernandez Borbalan for a penalty, due to an errant Atleti leg that left his nose bloodied, but both were correctly waved away.
In fact, Ramos was unable to continue with Nacho replacing him at the break and Los Blancos settled into a comfortable rhythm around Atletico’s final third for the opening exchanges.
That period of pressure subsided with relative ease for Atletico and a brief burst of momentum saw Correa drill a cross along the six-yard line just after the hour, but they too suffered from a heavy degree of toothlessness.
Speaking of which, Ronaldo was played in on 75 minutes for another glimpse of goal when running inside the D but he rolled his effort wide of the far post as defenders swarmed around him.
While Zinedine Zidane threw Marco Asensio on with the clock ticking, Antoine Griezmann was among the Atleti players hooked as Diego Simeone took off his strike duo to give Kevin Gameiro and Fernando Torres a try.
Immediately, the pairing combined with Torres smartly beating his man and setting Gameiro up for an effort that lobbed Casilla in the Real goal and had to be cleared off the line by Varane. It was the closest either team had come all night and livened the Wanda crowd up for the derby’s final knockings.
And yet, bar another couple of flourishes from Ronaldo that continued to be matched by Los Colchoneros, the game was up with Barcelona going ten points clear of the duo with just 12 games played.
Match stats
0.- Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Juanfran, Savic, Godín, Lucas; Gabi, Thomas (Carrasco, 52 mins), Saul, Koke; Correa (Gameiro, 76 mins), Griezmann (Torres, 76 mins).
0.- Real Madrid: Casilla; Carvajal, Ramos (Nacho, 45 mins), Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Isco; Benzema (Asensio, 76 mins), Cristiano.
Goals: None.
Referee: David Fernandez Borbalan (Almeria)
Yellow Cards: Carvajal (20 mins), Savic (34 mins), Saul (62 mins), Koke (70 mins), Juanfran (76 mins), Nacho (81 mins), Lucas (81 mins), Godin (89 mins).
Red Cards: None.
Venue: Estadio Wanda Metropolitano
