Atletico denied derby victory by late Benzema equaliser

Atletico Madrid squandered the chance to inflict a heavy blow on Real Madrid’s La Liga title hopes on Sunday as Karim Benzema’s late equaliser earned the champions a 1-1 draw and kept them in the race at the top.

Luis Suarez’s flicked finish early in the first half looked to be enough to give Atletico a crucial win that would have put them eight points clear of their opponents, with a game in hand.

But they failed to make their authority count and Benzema punished them in the 88th minute to ensure the gap between the two city rivals stayed at five points.