Atletico Madrid draws with Villarreal as fans target Julian Alvarez

Giuliano Simeone scored a late equaliser as Atletico Madrid came back to draw 2-2 with Villarreal after playing the final stages of the match with 10 men.

The late goal came after Villarreal had taken the lead from the penalty spot following Robin Le Normand's red card in the 76th minute. Le Normand was sent off for bringing down Georges Mikautadze inside the box, and Mikautadze converted the penalty to put Villarreal 2-1 ahead.

Atletico responded with one final counter-attack. Alex Baena played the ball to Giuliano Simeone on the right, and the forward finished past goalkeeper Luiz Junior to earn his father Diego Simeone's side a point.

The match also saw Atletico supporters turn against Julian Alvarez. The striker was booed while warming up, jeered again when his name was announced among the substitutes, and received louder whistles when he came on in the 66th minute. Some fans also chanted, "Let him leave once and for all, let him leave..." after Alvarez had said during the World Cup that he had spoken to the club about a possible transfer to "fulfil my dream". Spanish media have linked him with Barcelona.

The boos continued after the final whistle as Alvarez went straight to the dressing room while the rest of the Atletico players stayed back to acknowledge the fans. After the match, Diego Simeone said the club had decided Alvarez should avoid going near the supporters. "The club decided he should not go near the stands or the fans," the Atletico manager said in a press conference. "It was the club's decision to keep him away and separate him, so he could go to the locker room."

When asked what advice he would give Alvarez, Simeone replied: "I'm not here to give advice. I have to focus on my job, which is to give my best for Atletico Madrid. If we want to win a title, we need to stick together, have forwards, and have key forwards. We all need to work accordingly on what we need." After a goalless first half, Atletico took the lead in the 59th minute through Marc Pubill, who scored from outside the box.

Villarreal equalised seven minutes later after Morten Hjulmand gave away a penalty for a foul on Tajon Buchanan, and Gerard Moreno converted the spot kick past Jan Oblak. VAR later awarded Villarreal another penalty after Le Normand's challenge on Mikautadze, which also resulted in the defender being sent off. Despite being down to 10 men, Atletico found a late equaliser through Giuliano Simeone to finish with a point.