Giuliano Simeone came to Atletico Madrid's rescue as his 85th-minute equaliser earned a 2-2 draw with Villarreal in their first LaLiga home game of 2026-27.


2026/2027 La Liga

2-2

Match Report

Atletico found themselves behind after penalties from Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze, but Simeone earned his team a point despite Robin Le Normand's red card.

Lee Kang-In blasted over after just 36 seconds before Alejandro Grimaldo's stinging left-footed strike forced Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior into a smart save. 

But Villarreal had the best moment of the first half through Ayoze Perez's close-range attempt, but it was palmed away by Jan Oblak following good work from Mikautadze. 

And Atletico made the breakthrough in the 59th minute when Marc Pubill curled in to the top-left corner with a stunning finish from the edge of the penalty area. 

But Villarreal hit back seven minutes later when Tajon Buchanan was brought down in the box by Morten Hjulmand, with substitute Moreno stepping up to score from 12 yards. 

The visitors were awarded another spot-kick when Le Normand fouled Mikautadze, with the Frenchman shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, as the Villarreal forward dusted himself down to dispatch the penalty beyond Oblak. 

Atletico appeared set for defeat, but Simeone snatched a point five minutes from time with a smart finish into the bottom-left corner after being slipped in by Alex Baena. 

Points shared at home. pic.twitter.com/1d8OkgMRJX

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) August 23, 2026

Alvarez returns as Giuliano Simeone spares his father's blushes

Leading up to this game, much of the talk centred around Julian Alvarez, with the striker wanting a move away from the club. The Argentine missed Atletico's first game of LaLiga, but he was brought on in the 67th minute to a chorus of boos at the Metropolitano.

The atmosphere in Madrid threatened to boil over as the home side found themselves a goal behind, with Alvarez being booed whenever he touched the ball, but it was Simeone who got the supporters back on side with his late heroics. 

Simeone assisted Pubill's fine finish before levelling things late on to score his first top-flight goal since netting against Barcelona in April. He also finished with a team-high total number of touches in the opposition box (eight).

But there will be plenty for Diego Simeone to ponder, especially regarding the way they gave up their goals. Villarreal have now converted all eight of their penalty attempts in 2026, more than any other team in the top five European leagues. 

Villarreal will, however, feel this is one that got away. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.60 from their 13 shots, while Atletico could only muster up a tally of 0.71 from their 19 attempts. 

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

3' Match Event for Atletico vs Villarreal

16' Match Event for Atletico vs Villarreal

22' Highlight from Atletico vs Villarreal

36' Highlight from Atletico vs Villarreal

49' Match Event for Atletico vs Villarreal

50' Highlight from Atletico vs Villarreal

52' Highlight from Atletico vs Villarreal

59' GOAL! Atletico 1-0 Villarreal (Marc Pubill)

65' Penalty Goal! Atletico 1-1 Villarreal (Gerard Moreno)

67' Match Event for Atletico vs Villarreal

78' Penalty Goal! Atletico 1-2 Villarreal (Georges Mikautadze)

86' GOAL! Atletico 2-2 Villarreal (Giuliano Simeone)

Line-ups

Atletico XI: Oblak, Koke, Grimaldo, Le Normand, Dávid Hancko, Lookman, Kang-in Lee, Morten Hjulmand, Marc Pubill, Giuliano Simeone, Rodrigo Mendoza

Subs: Musso, Gimenez, Llorente, Álex Baena, Alvarez, Johnny Cardoso, Arnau Ortiz, Carlos Martín, Barrios, Dani Martinez, Jorge Castillo, Jorge Domínguez

Villarreal XI: Ayoze Perez, Pepe, Santi Comesaña, Foyth, Pape Gueye, Georges Mikautadze, Alberto Moleiro, Luiz Júnior, Carlos Romero, Renato Veiga, Santiago Mouriño

Subs: Gulacsi, G. Moreno, Logan Costa, Sergi Cardona, Buchanan, Ilias Akhomach, Alex Freeman, Tani Oluwaseyi, Pau Navarro, Nizar, Cheikh Tidiane Thiam, Carlos Macià