Report: El Madrileño held to a draw on a freezing night in Alcalá | OneFootball

After the victory in Tarragona, Atlético Madrileño returned to Alcalá de Henares to host CD Eldense, seeking another win to consolidate their leadership.

Fernando Torres' team lined up as follows: Salvador Esquivel; Javier Boñar, Aleksa Puric, Dani Martínez, Julio Díaz; Javier Serrano, Martín Bellotti; Iker Luque, Rayane Belaid, Arnau Ortiz; Omar Janneh. The lineup from recent weeks was repeated under the principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

In the first half, the team faced suffocating pressure from the opponent, which at times made it difficult to play out from the back. However, Serrano and Bellotti remained vigilant to intercept in midfield and start the counterattack. The goal came quickly, as in the 17th minute Rayane put the red-and-whites ahead with a cross-shot after picking up his own rebound. Madrileño deservedly went 1-0 up but gradually declined as the minutes passed. Eldense warned several times, causing constant interruptions in play and set pieces. In one of those, well into stoppage time, the 1-1 came in a move protested by the locals.

The referee was too much of a protagonist. Every foul by Madrileño resulted in a yellow card. The opposite for Eldense. Not a single play without a corresponding stoppage for an opposing player on the ground, almost 5 minutes of review for a non-existent red card for Julio Díaz, and an unwarranted expulsion for a staff member.

The second half saw the reserves improve, and despite the opponent's good play, they grew stronger and threatened Ramón Vila's goal on several occasions. Madrileño had a chance from a set piece in a scrappy play in the six-yard box, with Jano Monserrate, Miguel Cubo, Jorge Castillo, and Morcillo as protagonists. They were Fernando Torres' substitutions in the second half, but as the minutes passed, it seemed the score would remain unchanged.

With this draw, Atlético Madrileño adds 1 point and remains at the top of the standings. In the next match, they will visit Alcorcón on Sunday, November 16th at 12:00 in Santo Domingo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.