Three stats from Real Madrid’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid

Real Madrid failed to win against Atlético Madrid for the first time this season in the third Madrid Derby of the campaign, with a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in LaLiga.

Neither team was willing to gamble, but Real Madrid were dominant throughout and were shocked when José María Giménez headed the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois to give the visiting 10 men the lead. That lead didn’t last long though as Álvaro Rodríguez got his first Real Madrid goal to equalise.

Here are three stats that help us to understand some of the big talking points from the match.

18 years and 226: Álvaro Rodríguez became the youngest player to score in a Madrid Derby this century

When Álvaro Rodríguez hit his late equaliser, it was a sense of great relief for Real Madrid fans who had been left stunned by Atleti taking the lead. It was also a landmark moment and a first senior goal for the teenager who has featured for Castilla for most of this season.

The 18-year-old scored at an age of 18 years and 226 days, making him the youngest player to score in the fixture this century. He overtook Gonzalo Higuaín, who had scored in the fixture at the age of 19 years and 76 days in 2007.

The substitute had already claimed his first LaLiga assist after he set up Marco Asensio in injury time as he played just six minutes against Osasuna at El Sadar, but this Bernabéu debut will have been made all the sweeter by scoring his first goal.

He has converted five goals for Castilla in 16 games this season and become a key player for Raúl, and with finishes like this one, it’s easy to see why. He’s been a regular and is highly-rated by Raúl, who knows a thing or two about being a good number nine.

That kind of impact off the bench is something that Real Madrid have been struggling to create with the likes of Mariano Díaz and Eden Hazard this season. Without the big signing to come into the side, Álvaro may have just positioned himself in that conversation.

200: LaLiga appearances for Nacho

It’s rare that Nacho is a man who is taking up many headlines, but this week he has done just that for a variety of reasons. Jürgen Klopp paid tribute to his fine display against Liverpool on Tuesday, he excelled in this Madrid derby and his future is up in the air amid doubts over whether he will extend his contract beyond the end of the current campaign.

Whatever happens, he will have made 200 appearances in LaLiga for Real Madrid, having reached the landmark figure against Atlético Madrid. It’s taken him 12 years to reach that figure since Jose Mourinho gave him his LaLiga debut in a 6-3 win at Mestalla in April 2011.

Since then, he has played under six different Real Madrid coaches, including two different spells with both Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane. It is the latter who gave him the most appearances, 99 including 83 starts.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Given Ancelotti’s glowing praise for Nacho in this week’s press conference, it may come as a surprise that he has given Nacho the lowest number of starts as a proportion of appearances. This was his 68th LaLiga game under the Italian, but only 38 have been from the start.

Taking into account all competitions, this was appearance number 301 for Nacho, with 56 in the Champions League, 36 in the Copa del Rey, five in the Spanish Super Cup and four in the Club World Cup.

3: Madrid Derbies this season, each with a red card for Atlético Madrid

This derby has been at the most heated and tense that it has been for some time this season. The controversy surrounding Vinícius Júnior, the friendship between players across both squads and all that is at stake has meant that all three of this season’s Madrid Derbies have been intense affairs.

When Ángel Correa threw out an elbow at Antonio Rüdiger off the ball in the second half, he joined Stefan Savić and Mario Hermoso in seeing red against Real Madrid in 2022/23.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, have not seen red in a Madrid Derby since Fede Valverde hacked down Álvaro Morata in the 2020 Spanish Super Cup semi-final.

The fact that Los Blancos have kept their composure has been at the very heart of many of these games going the way they have. Atleti have looked to hold out patiently and losing a man debilitates their ability to do that, particularly late on in games.

That invites Real Madrid to do their thing. Playing against 10 men, spaces open up and they can have more freedom. That was exactly what happened here, with the five minutes following the red card allowing Real Madrid to have two attempts from the edge of the box with cut-backs to areas that were left vacant. Finding that yard of space for Álvaro to score may well have benefitted from the man advantage too.