Atlético de Madrid on Sunday salvaged a point against Villarreal in what is the sixth draw from the past 11 meetings between these two sides.
Atlético had their fair share of chances in the first half, but were just missing that final piece of quality to convert a chance. Similarly, Villarreal had their own chances that just went awry, with Marc Pubill appearing early to make a goal-saving block. The clear missing piece from Atleti was a proper center forward or striker to get on the end of the chances.
“Dramatic” would be the best way to describe the second half. Pubill must have taken some shooting lessons from Kang-In Lee, as he unleashed an outside the box curler to open up the scoring for Atleti in the 59th minute. Villarreal then took the lead in the match through two questionable penalties, awarded from Alejandro Hernández Hernández 12 minutes apart.
The first penalty was questionable both Morten Hjulmand and Tajon Buchanan were jockeying for position, but the second penalty was fairly clear as Robin Le Normand denied Georges Mikautadze a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Atleti held on for the draw thanks to Álex Baena’s wonderful assist for Giuliano Simeone, who neatly finished an 85th-minute chance thanks to some subpar goalkeeping from Luiz Júnior. Diego Simeone will leave this match thankful for the draw, but some will feel the Colchoneros deserved more from today’s match.
Here are Into the Calderón’s player ratings from this Atleti’s second home match of the 2026/27 season.
Starting XI
Jan Oblak
Colossal save on Ayoze Pérez just before halftime to keep Villarreal off the scoresheet. The visitors mounted the pressure to open the second half and Oblak responded with a huge save on Nicolas Pépé’s shot. Outside of the two penalties (for which he barely), Oblak was brilliant on Sunday. 6
Alejandro Grimaldo
The Spanish international seemed to take his FC27 rating personally and took a big chance from outside the box early in the match that needed a big save from Luiz Júnior. Seemingly still trying to find his fitness and role with the team, he provided some good chances, but nothing worth writing home about. 6
Robin Le Normand
Solid performance from Le Normand in the first half. He rebounded quite well coming off a performance where he had a tough time keeping up with Carlos Ruiz Rubio. However, a defensive lapse led to VAR intervening to call a penalty for Villarreal and a red card for the Spaniard in the 76th minute. 4
Dávid Hancko
An under-the-radar performance for Hancko. Primarily covered the left hand side of the pitch defensively while Grimaldo made runs on the left wing. Won all three of his ground duels and held his positioning well. 7
Marc Pubill
Massive stop early in the match to deny Mikautadze from putting Villarreal up 1-0. The Spain international is still trying to find his footing, as Sunday was not his best day defensively outside of a massive early block, but what an absolutely wonderful goal just 15 minutes after the start of the second half. Made way for Julián Alvarez in the 66th minute. 8
Koke
Continues to age like fine wine. The captain anchored the midfielder and provided brilliant support as Atleti attempted to mount their attack. Subbed off for Marcos Llorente in the 66th minute. 7.5
Morten Hjulmand
A nice debut into the starting lineup for Hjulmand. The Danish midfielder was all over the Villarreal attack and provided great support for the Atleti defense. Unlucky to concede a penalty on a controversial call. 6
Mendoza
Rodrigo Mendoza is excellent at finding pockets of space between the lines, but he still needs to become more polished in possession before he’s ready to consistently start. Subbed off for Álex Baena at halftime. 6.5
Giuliano Simeone
Still appears to be trying to find his fitness following a short preseason due to Argentina’s World Cup run. Atleti have been experimenting with Simeone playing at RWB, and I do not believe this experiment is working. Wonderful finish on the brilliant ball from Baena to equalize at 2-2. 6.5
Kang-In Lee
Not sure if Kang-In is 100 percent match-fit yet, either. Due to the situation with his work visa from South Korea, he joined the squad only a couple weeks ago. He let the chances fly in the first half and was doing whatever he could to generate opportunities. Made way for Pablo Barrios in the 73rd minute. 7
Ademola Lookman
A better outing from Lookman than the Málaga match, but still playing somewhat out of position. The Nigerian pressed intently and put a lot of pressure on the Villarreal back line, but could not convert any of his chances. 6
Substitutes:
Baena
Subbed on for Mendoza at halftime. Unlucky to be offside on a move that would have been called a penalty. Incredible ball to set up Giuliano’s equalizer. 7
Julián Alvarez
Joined the game to a swarm of boos in the 66th minute. This reception was expected for Alvarez, and I think Simeone and the player will be glad that this initial reaction is done and dusted. Had one real chance that was blocked, but did not offer much more in his first appearance in the 2026/27 season. 5
Marcos Llorente
Similar to his fellow Spain internationals and Argentina teammates, he still seems a bit rusty after he replaced Koke in the 66th minute. Hopefully another week of training will have Atleti fans seeing the Llorente they’ve grown to love. 5
Pablo Barrios
Atleti clearly have a strategy for integrating Barrios back into full match fitness after he replaced Kang-In Lee in the 66th minute. 6
José María Giménez
Did not do much following replacing Lookman in the 79th minute Picked up a yellow for a crunching tackle. n/a
