Atletico Madrid wasted a golden opportunity to go top in LaLiga as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by visitors Celta Vigo on Saturday (Feb 15).
Atletico played almost the entire game a man short after midfielder Pablo Barrios was shown a straight red card for a reckless studs-up tackle on Pablo Duran in the fourth minute.
The red card was Barrios' second in less than a month, as he was sent off for an almost identical challenge on Jeremie Frimpong early in Atletico's 2-1 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen three weeks ago.
Substitute Iago Aspas fired home a 68th-minute penalty after Robin Le Normand had fouled Borja Iglesias inside the box but forward Alexander Sorloth came off the bench to finish off a counter attack in the 81st minute and rescue a valuable point for the home side.
Real Madrid top the standings with 51 points after being held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna earlier on Saturday, one point ahead of Atletico Madrid in second. With a game in hand, FC Barcelona are third on 48 points and will face Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
