Atlético Madrid’s rocky start to the season continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, even after substitute Alexander Sorloth saw red late in the match.
Diego Simeone’s side had endured a dramatic 3-2 stoppage-time Champions League loss at Liverpool on Wednesday, a match that saw the Atlético coach clash with fans and receive a red card after being pulled away.
Looking to bounce back in LaLiga, Atlético were awarded an early penalty at Son Moix, but Julián Álvarez saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Román.
Sorloth’s night turned sour in the 72nd minute when he was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Mallorca captain Antonio Raíllo, confirmed after a VAR review.
Despite being a man down, Atlético took the lead shortly after when Conor Gallagher fired in the rebound from a Marcos Llorente effort.
However, Mallorca snatched a late equaliser in the 85th minute through substitute Vedat Muriqi, who rose highest to power home a header from Jan Virgili’s precise cross.
Atlético’s early penalty came when Raíllo blocked a shot from Dávid Hancko with his arm in the box, but Román got down to deny Álvarez.
The Mallorca keeper then produced further crucial saves, including a near-post stop from Llorente and another point-blank stop early in the second half from Álvarez’s turn.
Even reduced to 10 men, Los Colchoneros managed to take the lead before Muriqi’s late header cancelled it out. Atlético held on through seven minutes of added time to claim their third draw from five LaLiga matches, leaving them 12th ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Rayo Vallecano.
Mallorca, meanwhile, earned only their second point of the season and remain deep in the relegation zone in 19th place. They will look to bounce back against Real Sociedad next.
