Real Madrid stumble against Girona, boosts Barcelona's hopes of a draw

Real Madrid reignited the La Liga title race – but in favour of rivals Barcelona – after falling into the trap of a 1-1 draw with Girona at the Santiago Bernabéu, in a match that held the breath of the Merengue fans and brought the joys of the Catalans.

Match Proceedings

Real Madrid took the lead through Uruguayan Federico Valverde in the 51st minute, giving his side a much-needed advantage after a difficult European week.

But Girona did not give up, and Frenchman Thomas Lemar managed to snatch the equalizer in the 62nd minute, confusing coach Alvaro Arbeloa's calculations and igniting the anger of the fans.

With this draw, Real Madrid raised its score to 70 points in second place, 6 points away from leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand, while Girona reached 38 points in tenth place.

A crisis of results. And the ghost of the zero season

The draw came just days after a painful loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, leaving Real fans wondering: Is the team approaching a season without titles?

 The result against Girona increased the pressure on Real and reduced the team's hopes of chasing Barcelona, especially since the latter still has a chance to widen the gap.

Arbeloa's anger at refereeing

The Spanish coach made no secret of his displeasure after the match, and the referee attacked Alberola Rojas for ignoring a penalty he considered "clear here and even over the moon" after Kylian Mbappe was hit inside the area.

Arbeloa added sharply: "I don't understand the silence of theVAR. He intervenes when he wants to, and when he doesn't want to, he doesn't. It's a very clear shot,"  he defended Vinicius and Mbappe, stressing that the problem is not in the individuals but in the collective performance against teams that are cohesive defensively.