Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid score, player ratings: Benzema's equalizer blows La Liga title race wide open

Real deserved something from the match and earned a point in the 88th minute

The title race in La Liga was blown wide open on Sunday as Real Madrid earned a late draw at leaders Atletico Madrid, 1-1. While Real wasted a chance to pull within a couple points, Barcelona are now just three points back of first place thanks to this result. Real remain firmly in the race at five points back.

This game featured superstar goalkeepers Jan Oblak (Atleti) and Thibaut Courtois (Real) making fantastic save after fantastic save, but it was Karim Benzema's 88th-minute goal that canceled out Luis Suarez's first-half striker, as each team took a point. Real looked set to take nothing from this match, but a flurry of quality late chances helped turned the tide and rescue something from a match where they surely deserved something.

Below are our ratings for the match. 

Real Madrid player ratings

Thibaut Courtois
Made some phenomenal saves and was the reason why they were still in this game. One of his best performances at the club going up against his former team.
Rating: 8

Nacho
Showed plenty of effort but his positioning was poor. He was 10 yards behind Suarez on Atletico's goal, which is inexcusable. A costly mistake by being too aggressive.
Rating: 5

Raphael Varane
Strong in the air, smart, but he can't be blamed for Suarez's goal. He did what he could but was pretty much outnumbered. Other than that, he was fantastic.
Rating: 7

Ferland Mendy
Caught up the field a bit too much and not really a big factor. A tad sloppy on the ball and poor in his challenges.
Rating: 5

Lucas Vazquez
Was surprisingly strong in his tackling, though he did get cut up a couple times. Also recovered the ball well. It was a quiet, yet effective performance.
Rating: 5 

Casemiro
More good than bad. He was exceptional defensively except on Suarez's goal, where he could have helped more. He was huge on Real's goal though, with his unselfishness handing Benzema a tap-in.
Rating: 7

Toni Kroos
Brilliant in his passing, his shielding of the ball was essential late, and he also created a couple chances. Didn't wow anybody, but boy was he key.
Rating: 7

Luka Modric
Did create a couple chances, but he really did poorly on a late free-kick opportunity. His passing was also a tad off, failing to handle longer passes well.
Rating: 5

Karim Benzema
Came back with a bang. He probably should have scored more than one, but he was the hero regardless. Had eight shots, four on goal, and he deserved a goal. Great play.
Rating: 8

Marco Asensio
Lasted just an hour. His passing was poor but he did play a couple dangerous balls. Decent, but far from good.
Rating: 4 

Rodrygo
Also lasted just an hour, failing to do much of anything.
Rating: 3

Federico Valverde
Came off the bench and provided some precise passing that was key to getting the ball forward in the late stages.
Rating: 7 

Vinicius Junior
Brought a change of pace off the bench but wasn't heavily involved.
Rating: N/A

Manager - Zinedine Zidane
A good point in the end, though they could have gotten more. This result will give them some confidence though, hurting their rival with another late goal. The subs were well timed, and he trusted in Benzema. It paid off.
Rating: 7

Atletico Madrid player ratings

Jan Oblak
He made some unbelievable saves. Bombarded with late chances, he was a brick wall until that late goal. Stellar.
Rating: 8 

Felipe
Caught looking on the goal, which was inexcusable. In other moments, he was solid but never looked confident in his challenges.
Rating: 4

Mario Hermoso
Did a bit of everything, though he was dominated in the air. Did recover the ball seven times and have five clearances.
Rating: 6

Stefan Savic
One of the stronger defenders. Savic was good everywhere for the first 87 minutes, but on the goal he didn't really understand the positioning and was caught off by the one-two.
Rating: 7

Kieran Trippier
Did not get the delivery into the box that he wanted, and defensively he was a liability at times. Sloppy passing when he did get forward.
Rating: 5

Koke
Great defensively but offered very little going forward despite two shots. His passing in the final third lacked precision.
Rating: 6

Thomas Lemar
Not all that effective. He didn't create a chance or record a shot.
Rating: 4

Marcos Llorente
Bagged a great assist, recovered the ball everywhere and was the key in the middle. He continues to impress and come up with big performances.
Rating: 8

Yannick Carrasco
Should have scored, but other than that he was dangerous in his creation. Made the Real defense look silly at times with his technique.
Rating: 6

Angel Correa
He knows he should have scored. While he didn't create anything, he got into dangerous positions and could have been the difference.
Rating: 6

Luis Suarez
Six shots, taking his best one brilliantly past Courtois. He entered with confidence and delivered with an inspiring showing. He will be disappointed at not having scored another.
Rating: 7

Saul
Came off the bench but only had 15 touches in 33 minutes.
Rating: 5

Joao Felix
Created a chance off the bench but never got a look on goal.
Rating: 5

Manager - Diego Simeone
Made the changes to hold onto the result, but it didn't work out. Perhaps he should have made them earlier, like with Geoffrey Kondogbia. Points dropped that he will feel his team should have had. 
Rating: 4

[Mar 7, 2021 at 12:05 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

A great combo between Benzema and Casemiro, and it is equal now!

[Mar 7, 2021 at 12:05 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

GOAL REAL!!!! Benzema!!!!!!!! 88th minute!!!

[Mar 7, 2021 at 11:57 am ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Two huge saves from Oblak on Benzema!!!!!!! MASSIVE saves inside the box. Great positioning to deny the Frenchman.

[Mar 7, 2021 at 11:31 am ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Nearly the 2-0!!! Carrasco with a great shot, but it is saved by Courtois!!!! It was inside the box, with a lovely chance to get it under him or to the side, but the goalkeeper somehow makes the save!