MADRID (AP) — Villarreal and Atletico Madrid combined for four goals in an action-packed first half but neither side could find a winner in the second as they settled for a 2-2 draw in their Spanish league opener on Monday.
A new-look Atletico team was without Stefan Savic, Mario Hermoso, Memphis Depay and Álvaro Morata and went behind after 18 minutes when Arnaut Danjuma scored a solo goal from a tight angle.
Marcos Llorente leveled the scores for Atletico two minutes later with a fierce strike only for Villerreal to get back in front nine minutes before halftime thanks to a goalkeeping mistake by Jan Oblak.
Oblak flapped at a cross and the ball hit the unsuspecting Koke and bounced into the net for an own goal.
Alexander Sorloth, who joined from Villlareal this month, equalized in first-half stoppage time for Atletico. The visitors tried to shake things up in the second half by sending on four Argentine players, including new signing Julian Alvarez from Manchester City, but they couldn’t make a decisive impact.
Joao Felix was not in the Atletico squad amid reports that he is on the verge of joining Chelsea.
Valladolid beats fellow newcomer Espanyol
Earlier Monday, newly promoted Real Valladolid marked its return to the Spanish first division with a 1-0 win over visitor Espanyol.
Raúl Moro got the only goal of the game midway through the first half .
The 21-year-old winger cut in from the left and was lucky to see his shot take a deflection and wrongfoot the Espanyol goalkeeper.
Both clubs spent last season in Spain’s second tier but Valladolid, whose majority owner is former Brazil striker Ronaldo, was one of only four La Liga teams to win its opening match. It was the first time Valladolid has won its home opener in La Liga since 1989.
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