MADRID: Getafe fought back to grab a 3-3 draw at 10-man Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as Borja Mayoral scored his second with a stoppage-time penalty to level a pulsating La Liga encounter in which Antoine Griezmann equalled the hosts’ all-time scoring record.

France international Griezmann also bagged a brace to draw level with Luis Aragones as the club’s record marksman with 173 goals, but it wasn’t enough to take all three points as Getafe clawed their way back from 3-1 down.

It was the first time Diego Simeone’s side, who had Stefan Savic sent off in the 38th-minute, dropped points at home this season.

Atletico took the lead just before halftime as Griezmann scored with a close-range finish from Rodrigo Riquelme’s superb cross from the right.

“After playing every three days and being down to 10 men with so much time to play, the boys made a huge effort. It was a tough game, we knew that,” Atletico manager Simeone told DAZN. “I am absolutely delighted for Griezmann, a player who is part of the club’s history. He has always given everything and is very important for us.”

Atletico moved third in the table with 35 points, level with fourth-placed Barcelona. Girona are top with 44 points.

Getafe equalised eight minutes into the second half when Mayoral, the league’s second top scorer, pounced on a rebound from keeper Jan Oblak’s superb save to find the net with a fine header.

Atletico substitute Alvaro Morata restored their lead in the 63rd minute with a towering header before Griezmann added to their advantage with a penalty in the 69th minute.

Getafe pulled one back three minutes from fulltime with Oscar Rodriguez’s deflected shot from inside the box, before Mayoral equalised again from the penalty spot with his second of the night.

“Oh my God. The first 30 minutes were calm, then it was a crazy game. A fair draw, a lot of emotions and we’ll have to analyse it afterwards,” said Mayoral, who took his L aLiga tally to 12 goals this season.

Meanwhile, Sevilla won the first time in 11 outings with Adria Pedrosa, Lucas Ocampos and Sergio Ramos on target in a 3-0 victory away to Granada as new boss Quique Sanchez Flores made a strong start after taking over Monday.

Valencia won 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano courtesy of Sergi Canos’ goal in the second half.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023