Karim Benzema's 88th-minute strike helped Real Madrid avoid defeat at city rivals Atletico, who missed the chance to go five points clear atop La Liga following a 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Luis Suarez put the Atletico ahead inside the first quarter of an hour with a deft finish while the hosts spurned several further chances as they looked to consolidate their position ahead of second-placed Barcelona.
Real, who had penalty claims waved away despite Felipe’s apparent handball, rallied in the closing stages and although Benzema was twice denied by Jan Oblak, he finished a fine move with two minutes to go.
Atletico moved three points clear of Barca while they remain five ahead of Real – although they have a game in hand on both their rivals – after their late misfortune on a day where Kieran Trippier returned to the ranks after a 10-week betting ban.
Tripper started the move that led to Atletico’s opener after 14 minutes, passing upfield to Marcos Llorente, who skipped past Nacho before putting Suarez clean through and the Uruguayan produced a finish of the highest order.
Suarez looked up and, with the outside of his right boot, skilfully swerved the ball beyond the onrushing former Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as the hosts hit the front following an uneventful opening few minutes.
Yannick Carrasco was just unable to connect with a cross from Suarez, who was a constant thorn in Real’s side throughout although Courtois was able to save a well-directed volley a little later in the half.
Real pleaded for a penalty just before half-time as Felipe appeared to handle in the area after a corner but nothing was given after referee Alejandro Hernandez watched several replays of the incident.
Atletico continued to hold the upper hand after half-time, with Courtois keeping the visitors within one goal as he saved well from Carrasco before denying Suarez again, smothering an effort from close range.
Joao Felix teed up Suarez shortly after being brought on but the former Barcelona striker shot straight at Courtois while at the other end Oblak was tested by a shot from distance by Real substitute Federico Valverde.
Real started to step up their intensity in the final quarter of an hour, with Oblak making a fantastic double save to thwart Benzema although the Frenchman pounced two minutes from time to ensure a share of the spoils.
After Atletico sloppily gave away possession, Benzema coolly played the ball to Casemiro and carried on his run before slotting in an empty net after collecting a return pass from the Brazilian.
"Atletico were the better team in the first half and we were the better team in the second, I think we deserved it," Real boss Zidane told a press conference. "We had chances and got back into it.
"At the end of the day the important thing for us was to put in another good second-half display and change the game, and we did that. It's a point, we're alive and we're going to keep fighting.
"Our aim is to keep fighting. There's still a long way to go in LaLiga and a lot of points at stake, we're going to fight until the end. Things can change quickly. We're doing the right things.
"We know we can improve and that's what we're going to do. We wanted to play better in the second half because the first half wasn't good. The attitude was very important to change things."
Elsewhere, Fran Beltran scored the winner as Celta Vigo edged a seven-goal thriller against basement club Huesca.
Santi Mina's opener was cancelled out by goals from Dimitrios Siovas and Rafa Mir as the league's bottom team bounced back.
But Nolito equalised before Hugo Mallo put Celta back in front shortly after half-time.
David Ferreiro hauled the hosts level in the 74th minute but Beltran made it 4-3 two minutes later.
A first-half goal from Mikel Merino lifted Real Sociedad to a 1-0 victory over Levante, while Alex Berenguer's stoppage-time winner earned Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 win over Granada after Jorge Molina had cancelled out Asier Villalibre's early opener.
In Italy, AC Milan closed the gap on city rivals Inter to three points at the top of Serie A with a 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona.
After Rade Krunic had opened the scoring, Manchester United loanee Diogo Dalot doubled his side's advantage in style, finding the top corner from just inside the box five minutes after the break.
Roma moved up to fourth after Gianluca Mancini's first-half header earned them a 1-0 win over Genoa.
Elsewhere, a last-gasp Radja Nainggolan equaliser earned resurgent Cagliari a 2-2 draw at Sampdoria.
The visitors had taken the lead through Joao Pedro, only for two goals in three minutes from Bartosz Bereszynski and Manolo Gabbiadini to turn the tide in Sampdoria's favour.
But Nainggolan's deflected effort earned Cagliari a valuable point at the very end.
A Lorenzo Insigne double and Victor Osimhen's effort helped sixth-placed Napoli beat Bologna 3-1, with Roberto Soriano scoring the visitors' only goal in the second half.
Basement club Crotone ended their seven-game losing run with a 4-2 win over fellow strugglers Torino.
After Nwankwo Simy's opener was cancelled out by Rolando Mandragora just before half-time, Simy got his and Crotone's second in the 54th minute.
Arkadiusz Reca made it 3-1 before late goals from Antonio Sanabria and Adam Ounas completed the scoring. Torino had Tomas Rincon sent off late on.
A late Simone Iacoponi own goal saw Fiorentina grab a share of the spoils in a 3-3 draw against 19th-placed Parma.
Following goals from Lucas Martinez Quarta, Juraj Kucka, Nikola Milenkovic and Jasmin Kurtic, Parma appeared to have snatched all three points when they took the lead for the first time in the game through Valentin Mihaila in the 90th minute.
But Iacoponi's own goal in the fourth minute of added time ensured both teams left with a point.
In the Bundesliga, Jonas Hector's late effort cancelled out Josh Sargent's opener as Cologne held Werder Bremen 1-1, while Arminia Bielefeld and Union Berlin played out a goalless draw in new Bielefeld boss Frank Kramer's first game at the helm.
In the Coupe de France, 10-time winners Marseille were dumped out by fourth-tier Canet Roussillon at the last-32 stage following a 2-1 defeat.
