The Madrid derby was suspended for 15 minutes after two PA announcements failed to stop fans in the south stand of the Estadio Metropolitano from throwing rockets at Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Coach Diego Simeone and captain Koke approached the end and tried to get them to stop, while Joséma Giménez engaged in a discussion with fans, including some wearing balaclavas, before the referee, Mateo Busquets Ferrer, took the teams off the pitch.

They finally returned at 10:42 p.m. with about 20 minutes left to play, during which Atlético scored a very late equalizer and Angel Correa equalized at the very end. According to La Liga protocols, another incident would have resulted in a permanent suspension of play. Luckily that didn’t happen, but the consequences will continue. Perhaps Europe’s best city derby – the only one ever played in a European Cup final – has been marred by insults in recent years, including racist slurs directed at Vinícius Junior, and has now been suspended.

The trouble that ended up happening where Atlético’s right-wing supporters are, Ultras which many had had enough of, began immediately after Madrid had taken the lead in the second half, when Courtois celebrated Eder Militão’s goal. The Madrid goalkeeper, who previously played for Atlético, alerted the referee to a couple of lighters being thrown at him. More items, warnings and gestures from Simeone encouraging fans to use their heads followed, but failed to stop the behavior. Eventually they returned, the game was late, and they played late even after 11 p.m., and in the end Madrid couldn’t hold on to the 1-0 lead thanks to Militão’s goal that had preceded it all. Madrid reached their 40th game without defeat, dating back to the last time they competed here in La Liga. However, Atlético received the draw at 11:12 p.m. But the football, which wasn’t even particularly good for most of the game, won’t be the issue in the next few days.

Injury kept Kylian Mbappé out, but the hope was that what they had lost in scoring opportunities – the Frenchman had scored in the last five games – they might be able to make up for it. Carlo Ancelotti didn’t replace him directly; Instead, he chose an additional midfielder, Luka Modric. This theoretically allowed Jude Bellingham to move a little closer to the strikers, the territory from which he scored more than 20 goals in his debut season.

Simeone, meanwhile, broke with his normal structure and relied on a back four instead of a back five. Alex Sorloth, Julián Álvarez and Antoine Griezmann all started. But while this may have seemed like an attack arrangement, the reality was somewhat different; Álvarez was more of a left midfielder than a striker, although he had the best moments. He escaped twice by storming past Dani Carvajal and Antonio Rüdiger from the left. The second time he entered the penalty area, he parried sharply against Courtois, his foot outstretched at the near post.

Conor Gallagher started in the middle of midfield alongside Marcos Llorente. The first big celebration came when he won the ball after 109 seconds – a foretaste of the character that has made him so popular so quickly. Shortly afterwards, Bellingham almost managed Modric’s pullback on the edge of the six-yard box. Another shot from the edge of the penalty area was collected by Jan Oblak. What stood out most in his early days, however, was how often Bellingham took responsibility for getting the ball out, popping up all over the field.

There was intensity but not much clarity and even less creativity. When Oblak’s 20-yard dive parried Fede Valverde, he was furious at how much space Valverde had been given, but that was an isolated incident: it was rare for Madrid to have the pitch in front of them; In fact, it was rare for any of them to do it. When Vinícius actually got close to Oblak, the goalkeeper walked around him and the celebration here rose to 70,000 heart rates. The lack of fluidity was reflected in Koke’s half-time introduction.

Here, finally, was the promise of playing some football. Sorloth left shortly after, having had no real impact, and Atlético reverted to a more familiar formation. Lino’s first run led to him finding Álvarez in the penalty area, but he couldn’t quite set up Rodrigo De Paul. The next time he set off, he ran straight into Valverde, which felt quite fitting.

And then, just after an hour, the goal came. Modric narrowly saved a free kick, Vinícius deflected a cross that reached the far post, where Militão touched the ball and fired a shot that went past Llorente’s thigh.

During the celebration, Courtois looked toward the south end and then alerted the referee to something that had been thrown at him from the stands behind the goal. A warning delivered over the PA failed to stop this; more followed. Bottles, a plastic bag, a lighter. When Simeone and Koke asked the fans to stop, the referee stopped the game. Simeone chatted with Courtois on the pitch. Then the captain and the coach went to the end together with Joséma Giménez. There was a discussion between Giménez and a man wearing a black Stone Island polo shirt and a balaclava with a painted skull. As they spoke, water poured down on the defender. More items fell.

The referee removed the teams from the field and the game was stopped. From other areas of the stadium, many of whom had had enough of the usual suspects, whistles were blown by a right-wing extremist group with whom some of them no longer wish to be associated. According to the protocol, they had been warned about the tannoy twice; Maybe they’ll learn something this way. One more time and the game would be over for good.

Then came the delay, with the possibility of abandonment. Instead, they continued playing. It wouldn’t be true to say that no one cared anymore. There was singing and shouting and Atlético went in search of an equaliser, but Madrid fought back and clung on for what would have been a crucial victory. There were also confrontations. There was a big groan when Antoine Griezmann was denied by a Courtois save and when Belgian Angel Correa failed.

Then there was a huge roar as the Argentine ran through, outran Courtois and fired the ball into the net. First ruled out for offside, VAR gave it back, a roar shook this place. There was still time for the hosts’ Marcos Llorente to be sent off for a rough tackle. But none of this would be remembered most by everyone here.