Real Madrid regained top spot in La-Liga with a goalless draw against bitter rival Atletico Madrid in Saturday's El Derbi.
Karim Benzema nearly snatched the victory for Madrid with his headed effort 15 minutes from time at Wanda Metropolitano, forcing a great save out of Jan Oblak.
Joao Felix and Saul Niguez went closest for Atletico, which registered just one attempt on target as its winless run in competitive meetings with Real stretched to a seventh match.
Both teams ultimately lacked quality in the final third, but it is Madrid - which has now gone three matches without conceding in the league - which will be happier after climbing above surprise package Granada at the summit.
READ| Getafe 0-2 Barcelona: Suarez and Junior fire Valverde's men to welcome win
Atletico put seven goals past Madrid in July's pre-season clash in New Jersey and looked the more likely side to make a breakthrough in the first half of this latest showdown.
Joao Felix twice went close for the hosts, dragging a shot wide of the target with the angle against him and blasting narrowly wide from 25 yards.
Real Madrid had some promising moments of its own before the interval, though, with Toni Kroos testing Jan Oblak twice in the space of three minutes late in the half.
Diego Someone introduced Angel Correa at half-time and the substitute headed over from a promising position four minutes after coming on.
Los Blancos forward Gareth Bale skied a shot soon after and Luka Modric, brought off the bench in an attempt to inspire Madrid, pulled one wide.
The game temporarily sparked into life in the final quarter as Benzema's header was palmed to safety by Oblak, three minutes after Saul glanced agonisingly wide.
What does it mean? Madrid out in front
Barcelona made it back-to-back league wins with a 2-0 win over Getafe earlier on Saturday, offering hope it has turned a corner following its slow start.
It is Real which is out in front at the top of La-Liga, though - this draw moving it one point clear of Atleti and surprise package Granada, while Barca is a further point behind.
Thomas sets the tempo
Making his 100th appearance for Atletico in LaLiga, Thomas Partey won all four of his duels in the first half and completed 95 per cent of his 40 passes, with an impressive 28 of those in the opposition half.
The Ghana midfielder continued to threaten in the second half, too, ending the match with 97 touches of the ball - only Kroos, with 98, managed more
Benzema kept relatively quiet
Benzema entered the match in fine form, having netted five goals in six league outings leading into the clash.
He was kept quiet by Atletico's defenders for 75 minutes, however, managing just 36 touches of the ball and only one shot on target.
What's next?
Atletico travels to Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League in midweek and Madrid hosts Club Brugge. Upon its return to La Liga action, Atleti has a trip to Real Valladolid next Sunday, while Zidane's men take on Granada a week from today.
Comments
SHARE