MADRID — Kylian Mbappe secured Real Madrid a 1-1 draw against rival Atletico Madrid, which kept Los Blancos top of La Liga on Saturday.

Julian Alvarez dinked home a controversial first half penalty for Atletico, but Mbappe was in the right place at the right time to bundle home the equalizer early in the second half on his first appearance in the tense derby clash.

Reigning champion Real Madrid leads second-place Atletico by a single point.

Atletico shaded a close first half, but was left holding on in the second period as the host stepped up a gear at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"The team is disappointed because they think they deserved more, but we're happy because we're still leaders," Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.

"In the second half we had total control, we had a lot of chances."

Ancelotti opted to deploy his four key attacking players in Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, in lieu of a more conservative approach.

The star names got stuck in, not always a given in a defensive sense, and the first half was an intense, hard-fought battle with few clear openings for either side.

Atletico was upset when Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos was only booked for an ugly challenge on Pablo Barrios, but it was the host who was left raging when referee Cesar Soto Grado pointed to the penalty spot.

Aurelien Tchouameni, covering at center-back for Madrid with Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao out, clumsily trod on Samuel Lino's foot in the box.

After a VAR review, Soto Grado awarded a penalty, much to Madrid's frustration, with the incident happening after the ball had run past the duo.

Los Blancos attacked Spanish refereeing earlier in the week after being upset by a decision in a shock defeat the previous weekend, bringing heavy scrutiny on the officials ahead of the derby.

Alvarez took the penalty, the first given against Madrid in La Liga this season, and cheekily executed a Panenka down the middle.

"I can't say I wasn't a bit nervous (with the penalty), but I was sure. I knew what I would do, and it was a great goal for the team," Alvarez told Movistar.

"Corruption in the federation," chanted Madrid fans in response to falling behind.

Ancelotti refused to talk about the refereeing, but appeared exasperated on the sideline when Soto Grado pointed to the spot.

A Real comeback

Madrid pulled level early in the second half when Rodrygo broke loose on the right of the box and crossed for Bellingham.

The England international's shot was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to turn home the rebound and score in his first Madrid derby.

Bellingham twice came close to putting Madrid ahead, nodding against the crossbar from a Vinicius cross, and then heading straight at Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak from a similar position, kicking the post in frustration.

Madrid played with far more fluidity in the second half and pegged Atletico back.

Oblak made a smart save to deny Vinicius after the Brazilian winger burst through a gap between two Atletico defenders and pulled the trigger from a tight angle.

The Slovenian goalkeeper also made fine saves against Rodrygo and Mbappe to ensure the two sides ended with a point apiece.

"We had a good first half, but we weren't relaxed enough in front of goal to (score) more," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. "In the end, it was a draw, and both teams think they could have taken more from it."

Real Madrid faces another big challenge on Tuesday when it travels to face Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs.

Earlier Athletic Bilbao, fourth, beat Girona 3-0 with an Oihan Sancet hat-trick to maintain its Champions League charge.

Antony, on loan from Manchester United, netted his first goal for Real Betis in a 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.

AFP