The late drama at the Wanda Metropolitano last weekend was one of the big stories from Game Week Four in La Liga.
Diego Simeone’s side struggled against Eibar in an open ended game, which ended in a late 1-1 draw in the capital.
Atletico Madrid were widely expected to pick up their second La Liga win of the season, however they encountered Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side in determined mood.
Los Rojiblancos have found it tough against the Basque side in recent meetings, drawing twice and winning 1-0 twice, in their last four encounters.
Eibar snatched an 87th minute lead through Sergi Enrich, and looked set for their first ever La Liga win over Atletico, only for Borja Garces to equalise in added time.
Despite the disappointment of letting three points slip down to one, Mendilibar will be boosted by the quality of performance shown by his players.
Pere Milla Pena and Anaitz Arbilla both hit the woodwork as they put real attacking pressure on the home side, with Papakouly Diop excellent in a defensive midfield role.
After losses to Huesca and Getafe in their opening two games of the season, a response was needed from Mendilibar’s new look side.
Following a number of key departures in the summer, Mendilibar is aware of the size of the task facing him to keep Eibar on a progressive path following 10th and 9th place finishes in the previous two seasons.
However the players he has brought in are still settling at the club, with Marc Cardona and Sergio Alvarez the only new faces to make a notable impact so far, and that has seen them down in the bottom half of the La Liga table.
Eibar are accustomed to exits each summer, however their poor start to the season had raised fears that this was one transfer window too far for the club, but there is some positivity to build on.
The result against Atletico, added to their first win of the season the week before at home to Real Sociedad, dragged them out of the relegation zone.
The pressure is now on to kick on from these results with a relatively favourable run of fixtures ahead.
They face bottom of the table Leganes at the Ipurua this weekend, before a trip to Espanyol and a home game against an inconsistent Sevilla before the end of September. bor
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