Football
ESPN staff 8y

Real Madrid, Atletico draw; Levante surprise leaders Villarreal

Atletico Madrid fought back to secure a hard-earned 1-1 draw against city rivals Real Madrid in La Liga action at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

Karim Benzema got the visitors off to a roaring start. The French international rising to meet an inch-perfect Daniel Carvajal cross and heading past Atleti keeper Jan Oblak.

Atletico had a chance at an equaliser not long after. Real defender Sergio Ramos conceded a penalty in the 21st minute, but Antoine Griezmann's spot-kick was saved by Real keeper Keylor Navas.

Atleti, however, would find their leveller seven minutes from time, with Luciano Vietto poking in a loose ball from inside the six-yard box to hand the home side the valuable point.

Villarreal suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at Levante but remained atop the the table.

Deyverson found a late winner seven minutes from time to move Levante off the bottom of the table with their first win of the year, though they remain in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Villarreal held a one-point lead atop La Liga at the start of the day and they could remain top despite the loss if Real Madrid fail to beat Atletico later on Sunday.

Athletic Bilbao came from behind to produce a dominant second-half performance and beat Valencia 3-1 at San Mames.

Dani Parejo put the visitors ahead on 19 minutes with a stunning free-kick but his side's lead lasted little more than 10 minutes, ended by Aymeric Laporte's close-range header.

Athletic were galvanised by the equaliser and swept their opponents away after the break, taking the lead for the first time through Markel Susaeta on the hour mark and then former Valencia striker Aritz Aduriz sealed the three points not long after.

Neither side had made the start to the season they would have desired, with Valencia taking nine points from their six games and Athletic just four. Nuno Espirito Santo's side were lifted by a vital win at Lyon in the Champions League in midweek, however, while Athletic lost at AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.

Ruben Castro scored one goal and set up another as Real Betis beat Rayo Vallecano 2-0 -- they first win at the Vallecas Stadium since 1999.

Heiko Westermann exchanged passes with Castro and opened the scoring in the 20th minute and the Spanish striker extended the lead just after the hour mark.

Press Association contributed to this report.

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