While transfer-linked superstar Julian Alvarez was only on the bench, new signing Alejandro Grimaldo was determined to make a name for himself on his Atleti debut and tested Luiz Júnior almost immediately with a dipping shot that had to be parried away.
Villarreal, though, were equally as threatening in the opening stages, with Marc Pubill required to make an excellent block to deny a certain goal for Georges Mikautadze.
Junior was busy again midway through the first half as he got behind Rodrigo Mendoza’s effort, before Jan Oblak made sure the score remained level at half-time by first parrying Mikautadze’s strike and then smothering Ayoze Pérez’s close-range poke.
The goalless state of affairs at the break means Atlético have now only led once at half-time in their last eight home fixtures as Villarreal, who finished a place above them in third last season, proved difficult opponents again.
The first chance of the second half also fell to the Yellow Submarine when Nicolas Pepe twisted Grimaldo inside out before curling towards the top corner, only for Oblak to expertly tip over.
However, against the run of play, Atlético took the lead just before the hour mark. Pubill played a one-two with Giuliano Simeone around the edge of the box before beautifully curling into the top corner, matching his goal tally of one from last season.
Nevertheless, the hosts’ jubilations were short-lived.
New Colchoneros signing Morten Hjulmand fouled substitute Tajon Buchanan in the box, allowing another replacement in Gerard Moreno to sweep the resulting penalty into the bottom corner with his first touch.
Shortly after, Villarreal could not believe their luck when they were awarded a second penalty after Mikautadze was pushed in the area, which also resulted in a red card for Robin Le Normand.
On this occasion, Mikautadze himself stepped up and fired the same way as Moreno, leaving Oblak with no chance once more.
There was still time for more drama, though. While the hosts had, by this point, introduced Alvarez into the fray, it was FIFA World Cup winner Alex Baena who fed through Simeone before the latter shot across Júnior to bring his side level as the clock approached 90 minutes.
Villarreal could have snatched victory when Oblak smothered Buchanan’s effort from close range, but they have to settle for another 2-2 draw after being held to the same scoreline by newly-promoted Racing Santander in their LaLiga opener.
Atleti boss Diego Simeone, meanwhile, will be pleased with his team’s fighting spirit, and four points from their opening two games represents a steady return.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid)