Atletico Hold Celta Vigo to a Draw After Lenglet's Red Card

Atletico managed a 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo in Sunday's La Liga fixture, competing with ten players for over half the match following Clement Lenglet's red card.

Diego Simeone's team currently occupies fifth place, trailing Real Madrid at the top by eight points and Barcelona in second by six, after Barcelona's earlier loss to Sevilla.

Atletico initially led due to a Carl Starfelt own goal before French defender Clement Lenglet received a second yellow card in the 40th minute, leaving his side with ten players.

Iago Aspas, matching Celta's all-time appearance record, scored the equaliser in the second half as the home side dominated possession but failed to secure victory.

Having defeated Real Madrid 5-2 the previous weekend and won three consecutive matches, Atletico entered this fixture seeking to build on recent strong form after a challenging start to the season.

"While the result is acceptable given our efforts, we aimed for three points," Koke remarked to Movistar.

"We must win all away matches and did not achieve that today. Improving our away performances is crucial as it remains a significant challenge."

Atletico opened the scoring at Balaidos early on when Starfelt inadvertently deflected Pablo Barrios's cross into his own net while attempting to block Julian Alvarez.

Celta gained momentum after Lenglet's dismissal, which stemmed from two first-half fouls on Ferran Jutgla resulting in yellow cards.

Celta's Ionut Radu made a fine save from David Hancko, while Jan Oblak denied Borja Iglesias twice before halftime.

Simeone substituted Antoine Griezmann at halftime, replacing the 34-year-old with Javi Galan to adapt to playing with ten men for the remainder of the match.

Atletico adopted a more defensive stance as Celta controlled possession and equalised through Aspas in the 68th minute.

The 38-year-old forward scored from close range after Oblak saved Iglesias' effort, with the ball resting near the goal line.

Aspas matched Manolo Rodriguez's club appearance record of 533 games, a mark last set in 1982.

Robin Le Normand headed narrowly wide at the other end, demonstrating Atletico's occasional threat despite Celta's overall dominance.

In stoppage time, Pablo Duran headed off-target from a tight angle, confirming the draw between both sides.

This marks Celta's sixth 1-1 draw in eight league matches this season, with the Galician team still searching for their first win.

"The result feels unsatisfactory as we played the second half with an extra player and pushed them deep into their own half," Aspas explained.

"We were desperate for our first La Liga victory and fought until the final whistle, but it simply wasn't to be."