Four minutes earlier, Eder Militao had put Real Madrid 1-0 up at the Metropolitano. Both teams then headed into the tunnel early with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Shortly after Militao's goal, Atletico fans began throwing objects onto the pitch at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Courtois, a former Atletico player, celebrated Militao's goal wildly. Several lighters, plastic bottles and at least one bag, the contents of which were unclear, were aimed at the Belgian.
Courtois then handed referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer a lighter he had found on the pitch, prompting a warning to be broadcast over the stadium's loudspeakers: "If this behaviour does not stop, the match will be postponed."
After a short delay, play resumed. But more objects were thrown onto the pitch. Once again, play had to be stopped. This time, referee Busquets Ferrer went to speak to the coaches of both teams, Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti.
"It was the right decision by the referee. It was the right thing to do. Nobody wanted to stop the game, but I think the referee did well," Ancelotti said.
Simeone and Atletico's two most experienced players, captain Koke and defender Jose Maria Gimenez, went to speak directly to some of the fans behind the goal.
"It was a moment of extreme tension. That cannot happen on a football pitch, but we cannot blame everyone just because of four people," Koke said.
Meanwhile, Simeone also had his own thoughts: "Think about the club, think about your team. You are not helping the team. They say it is not their fault. They say they were provoked."
In total, three warnings were given to fans over the stadium's loudspeaker system. When the fans still did not listen, Busquets Ferrer asked the teams to return to the dressing rooms. Fans were informed that the match would be delayed for 10 minutes. If the incidents did not stop, the match would be suspended indefinitely.
After a 15-minute wait, the teams emerged from the tunnel again. After a short warm-up for the players, the match resumed at 10:45 p.m. local time.
The atmosphere after the match was quite dull. Simeone had to signal the fans to make some noise. Finally, there were some dramatic developments in the last minute.
Angel Correa levelled the score at 1-1 in the 95th minute, much to the delight of the home fans. Marcos Lorente was then sent off. But all the talk after the match was about the stoppage. And the ultimate debate was who was responsible for the incident?
Speaking to the media, both Simeone and Koke said that Courtois must bear at least part of the responsibility for what happened.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti did not want to get involved in this controversy: "I am just a football coach. I control the sporting aspect".
An hour and a half after the match ended, Atletico released a strongly worded statement from the club, condemning the throwing of objects by fans and saying they were working with the police to resolve the incident.
