Deportivo 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Lucas denies Simeone's men top spot

Lucas scored a late equaliser to earn Deportivo La Coruna a 1-1 draw and deny Atletico Madrid at least temporary ownership of first place in La Liga on Friday night.

A tight first half was lit up by Tiago's brilliant strike on the half-hour mark and while Deportivo improved after the break, they had to wait until the closing stages to equalise.

Lucas pressed Jose Gimenez into an error as the defender attempted to usher the ball out of play before beating Jan Oblak in the Atletico goal with a well-taken low finish.

It was the 27-year-old's sixth goal of the campaign, matching his tally for the entirety of last season.

Diego Simeone's men had won their last three matches in all competitions and had the opportunity to move above Barcelona and Real Madrid to the summit of La Liga with a victory.

But while Deportivo have now failed to win in their last four games, and remain winless in eight against Atletico, their bright start to the season, which has seen them lose just twice, goes on.

With a long-haul trip to Astana in the Champions League to come on Tuesday, Atletico sought an early goal but struggled to find a breakthrough.

Jackson Martinez saw a snapshot blocked by Sidnei but the Colombian, and his strike partner Antoine Griezmann, were soon starved of service.

Eventually, though, 30 minutes of persistance paid off. Martinez made a nuisance of himself in the box and when Sidnei half-cleared the ball to Tiago, the Portugal midfielder rifled a fine volleyed finish into the bottom corner.

Oblak was then called into his first action of the game when he was forced to control a misplaced backpass on his chest and clear under pressure.

Atletico could have made it two from their next attack. Diego Godin's header hit the post and the ball bounced off Griezmann into goalkeeper German Lux's grateful arms.

Griezmann then hit the side netting with a header in the last minute of the half, with a 1-0 deficit in the end flattering the hosts at half-time.

Deportivo were much better after the break and went close just three minutes into the second period when Fede Cartabia jinked into a shooting position but got the finish all wrong.

Laure and Cartabia then combined well but Oblak saved the latter's effort comfortably before denying another speculative effort from the Argentine midfielder.

Simeone's side were, at that point, content to protect their single-goal lead and were punished.

Lucas's harrying of Gimenez paid off and with just 12 minutes to go, he kept his nerve to beat Oblak from close range.

It nearly got worse for Atletico when Feycal Fajr smacked the crossbar with a brilliant curling effort from well outside the box but Atletico held on to preserve a point.