Chances were few and far between in the opening half of tonight's La Liga match between in-form sides Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.

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After a nervy opening quarter of an hour, Koke was the first to go close. The Atletico playmaker looked for the far corner with a curler from range and saw his effort fly just past the post.

Villarreal's first attempt didn't arrive until just before the break, but it was the clearest of the game as Denis Cheryshev received the ball on the counter-attack but shot tamely at Miguel Moya.

Moments later the visitors wanted a penalty when the ball appeared to strike GabI on the arm, but referee Pedro Perez didn't agree.

Join us for the second half live on Sports Mole here.

Written by
Pascal Lemesre