Carlo Ancelotti said "football people don't understand" penalties like the one awarded to Atlético Madrid in their 1-1 derby draw with Real Madrid on Saturday.

Julián Álvarez converted the 35th minute spot kick -- given by VAR after Aurélien Tchouaméni was adjudged to have fouled Samuel Lino -- to put visitors Atlético ahead at the Bernabéu.

Kylian Mbappé equalised in the second half, for a result which leaves leaders Madrid just a point ahead of their local rivals at the top of the LaLiga table.

Ancelotti initially said "I'll pass" when asked for his thoughts on the penalty, after a week which saw Madrid file a formal complaint over the refereeing in their defeat at Espanyol last weekend, drawing an angry response from Atlético, who accused them of putting pressure on officials.

Madrid have been regular critics of refereeing in LaLiga, and their open letter this week called for "structural reform" calling the current system "completely discredited."

"I think we deserved more," Ancelotti said. "We had total control, we scored, we got into the box, we played very well in the second half.

"The first half was totally different, much slower, and less aggressive. I think with what we did in the second half, we leave with a good feeling. The penalty affected the team, obviously."

"I think the referee did his best with his decisions," Diego Simeone said in his news conference, citing a first-half decision to show Real midfielder Dani Ceballos a yellow card for a challenge on Pablo Barrios. "For some people the Ceballos challenge was a red, and for others it wasn't. I thought [the referee] had an OK game."

Kaoru Mitoma sealed Brighton & Hove Albion's 2-1 comeback home victory over Premier League rivals Chelsea to send the south coast club into the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.

Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen gifted Chelsea a fifth-minute lead when he bundled a cross by Cole Palmer into his own net under no pressure.

The hosts were not behind for long, however, as Georginio Rutter equalised seven minutes later with a glancing header.

Palmer should have restored eight-times Cup winners Chelsea's lead before halftime but Brighton were superior after the break and Japanese winger Mitoma sealed the tie in the 57th minute with a flicked finish over Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez.

Defeat means Chelsea have not won away in any competition since early December and their only realistic chance of silverware in manager Enzo Maresca's first season at the helm is in the UEFA Conference League.

Brighton have been inconsistent in the league under their 31-year-old manager Fabian Hurzeler but they provided a great response to last week's 7-0 drubbing by Nottingham Forest, especially after such a calamitous start.

"It's good that everyone rallied around and showed their fighting spirit," Brighton winger Tariq Lamptey said.

"We showed that we are together and we turned it around."

Things looked bad for the hosts when Palmer volleyed a cross towards goal and Verbruggen spilled the ball into his goal.

Rutter spared his blushes soon after though as Joël Veltman's cross from the right evaded two Chelsea defenders and the Frenchman guided his header beyond Sanchez.

There was a hint of controversy about Brighton's winner with a suspicion of handball in the build-up before Mitoma showed a cool head to lift his finish over Sanchez.

Pep Guardiola has joked that Manchester City's FA Cup fourth round win at Leyton Orient saved his job.

City were facing one of the great shocks in the competition's history as League One side Orient led at the break through a Stefan Ortega own goal as Jamie Donley's stunning 45-yard strike hit the crossbar and then the City goalkeeper's back.

Second half goals from Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne secured a 2-1 victory to rescue City and Guardiola, who faced chants about his future from the gleeful Orient fans inside the Gaughan Group Stadium.

Asked how much he enjoyed the atmosphere, the City boss said: "When they say 'you are going to get sacked in the morning,' not much.

"But it is a routine in all the stadiums right now, Still, with this result I think my chairman is not going to sack me tomorrow.

"It was really good. I don't know if in League One, in every single game the vibe is like this but it's really good. You come to enjoy the football, the locker room is so tight. The players can talk even more than in a normal locker room. But I said many times to the players: 'we came from here.'

"We didn't warm up at 16, 17, 18 years old and go to Wembley. We were born in these locker rooms. Especially when you play in the lower divisions, I like the way the team behaves because how many surprises have there been in the FA Cup, in the long history of this competition?"

City face Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League knockout phase play-off first leg and avoided what would have been another huge blow to Guardiola after falling 15 points off the pace in the Premier League.

"Now of course our position is a little bit unstable emotionally, we have a lot of injuries and that's why going through with this result makes me so proud and so happy," Guardiola added.

City handed debuts to two of their January signings in Nicolas Gonzalezand Vitor Reis. Gonzalez was forced off after 22 minutes with an injury, of which Guardiola admitted afterwards he was unsure of the severity, while Reis was withdrawn for tactical reasons at half-time.

Real Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw against city rivals Atlético Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday with Kylian Mbappé scoring a second-half goal to cancel out Julián Álvarez's first-half opener for the visiting side.

That kept Real top of LaLiga on 50 points, one ahead of Atletico in second who missed a chance to leapfrog them. Barcelona, third on 45 points, visit Sevilla on Sunday with a chance to close the gap in the title race.

In a tale of two halves at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Atletico dominated the first 45 minutes and took the lead when Alvarez struck a 35th minute penalty after Aurélien Tchouaméni had fouled Samuel Lino inside the box.

Real roared back after the break, with Mbappe striking home a rebound in the 50th minute to level the game. But they were frustrated in their attempt to grab a win by an imperious Jan Oblak, who made a string of stunning saves.

Diego Simeone's Atletico arrived in fine form, having won 19 of their previous 21 games in all competitions and they showed why they have the best defence in Europe's top five leagues with 15 goals conceded in 23 games.

On Saturday, despite missing defensive stalwart Robin Le Normand to suspension, Simeone's side was once again rock-solid at the back, frustrating Real's stellar attack who were unable to create a single shot on target in the first half.

Winger Lino and forward Alvarez were a constant menace up and down the left channel, often exposing the deficiencies of Lucas Vázquez and Tchouameni who got the start in a depleted Real defence without their top four defenders due to injuries.

PENALTY

In the 25th minute, Atletico's players complained forcefully to the referee over a studs-up challenge on Pablo Barrios by Dani Ceballos, asking for a straight red. But Cesar Soto Grado gave only a yellow.

Five minutes later, Atletico had their complaints heard when Tchouameni left a foot in on Lino as the ball came into the box in a quick counter-attack. At first, the referee did not spot the foul but after he was called to review the play in the VAR booth, he pointed to the penalty spot.

Cold-blooded Alvarez held his nerve under deafening booing from the sold-out Santiago Bernabeu crowd to brazenly chip his penalty down the middle as Thibaut Courtois dived low.

Lino and Alvarez wasted golden opportunities that should have given the visitors a more comfortable lead and they paid a heavy price as Real came back livelier after the break, with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo impressing in the channels.

It took them five minutes to find the equaliser when Rodrygo ran past two opponents on the right wing and crossed to Jude Bellingham who sliced his first touch strike from close-range. Gimenez managed to block the rebound which fell to Mbappe, who fired home the loose ball.

Real went all out for the three points but ran into Oblak, who denied close-range efforts by Vinícius, Rodrygo, Mbappe and Bellingham, who also had a strike off the crossbar, to secure Atletico's point.

MADRID -- Real Madrid's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in Saturday's derby means there's no change at the top of the table, with just one point still separating the two teams. Julián Álvarez's first-half penalty had Atletico hoping they might secure their first win at the Santiago Bernabéu since 2016, but Kylian Mbappé's equalizer early in the second half meant the visitors had to settle for a point.

Real had the better of the second half as both goalkeepers, Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak, making important late saves. Here are three talking points, after a result that leaves LaLiga's title race wide open.

1. Penalty call means more ammunition for ref debate

After all the noise this week -- the refereeing complaints, the open letters, the social media posts -- it was time for the football. Or was it?

The build-up to this derby was dominated by Real's demands for "structural reform" of refereeing, and Atletico's critique of their rivals for putting officials under pressure. So of course, when the game began, it was no different.

Naturally, the spotlight was on referee Cesar Soto Grado and his VAR colleague Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea. There were deafening whistles for both officials' names when they were read out over the stadium tannoy, pre-match. The only question was: when would the first big decision come? And would they get it right?

For the first half hour of the game, very little happened: it was exactly the game Atletico and Simeone wanted, with not much football and precious few chances. Then, that moment of polémica (Spanish for "controversy") arrived.

Aurélien Tchouaméni, once again playing out of position at centre-back, reached for the ball inside the box and seems to catch Samuel Lino's foot with his studs. A long, drawn-out VAR check followed. Tchouameni had trodden on Lino's foot, but by the time the contact came, the ball had gone.

Referee Soto Grado came across to check the pitchside monitor, and as the stadium held its breath -- or rather, whistled vociferously -- he awarded a penalty that Julian Alvarez coolly converted, chipping the ball down the middle of the goal. It was the first penalty awarded against Real Madrid all season in LaLiga, but that won't stop the incident being endlessly debated and cited.

At halftime, there were more whistles as Soto Grado walked off the pitch, but that was as much a reflection of fan frustration at Real's performance as anything. In the first half, they had created very little, with an xG (expected goals) of just 0.23.

2. Mbappé leads the fightback to underline his improving form

After the break, Real Madrid looked a different side. It took just five minutes in the second half for Mbappé to equalize, pouncing on the ball inside the box, after Jude Bellingham's shot had been blocked by defender José María Giménez. Mbappé's instinctive, confident finish, struck hard into the ground to bounce up and past goalkeeper Jan Oblak, was one of a player whose form continues to curve upwards.

The France star now has 23 goals in all competitions this season, with nine of those coming already in 2025. Further proof of his form could be seen in the pre-game as he briefly celebrated with LaLiga's Player of the Month award.

Mbappé is becoming one of this team's leaders, and his reaction to the goal -- racing back to the centre circle, hungry for more -- showed that.

The goal was also a precursor to Madrid's best spell in the match. Moments later, Bellingham headed against the crossbar, reaching the ball just a fraction of a second ahead of Mbappé. Madrid were well on top, but Oblak kept Atletico in the game, weathering the storm. Later, Mbappé could have provided the perfect finale, but he was denied by Oblak in the 89th minute; at the other end, Courtois saved too in added time.

There have been doubts about whether Mbappé really is "back" considering that his goals since Christmas have mostly come against so-called lesser teams like Las Palmas, Salzburg and Real Valladolid. That wasn't the case here, and with Manchester City coming up in the Champions League, there will be two opportunities this month to put that theory to the test.

3. A draw means either team -- or Barça -- could still win LaLiga

A win for Real Madrid on Saturday night would have sent them four points clear at the top of the table. It wouldn't have been an insurmountable lead with 15 games still to play, but it would have been a significant one. But they couldn't complete the job in the second half, and the draw means Atletico -- who led the table before dropping points against Leganés and Villarreal in January -- remain very much in the picture.

Atletico's first-half performance at the Bernabéu was vintage Simeone, the team looking near-impossible to break down. They moved in unison to deny any space, sometimes with a backline of six players, with wingers Giuliano Simeone and Lino dropping back to help the defence. In that first half it meant Real Madrid, despite their much vaunted "fantastic four" attack of Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, looked toothless.

The second half was less convincing and in the end, Atletico had Oblak to thank for earning them a point.

Hansi Flick's Barcelona will have been looking on with interest, having seemingly bounced back from their December slump. A win for Barça at a struggling Sevilla on Sunday would put them a point behind Atletico and two behind Real, with Barça due to visit Atletico next month. The prospect of a proper, three-horse title race that goes the distance is now a very real one.