Real Madrid’s hopes of winning LaLiga look to be all but over after they were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Girona on Friday.
With Barcelona not in action until Saturday, when they face Catalan rivals Espanyol, Madrid had an opportunity to move back within four points of the summit.
But Alvaro Arbeloa’s side followed up their defeats to Mallorca and Bayern Munich with another uninspiring performance, with Federico Valverde and Thomas Lemar exchanging stunning strikes from distance.
Valverde tested Paulo Gazzaniga during a largely uneventful first half, but the Uruguayan got the better of the Girona goalkeeper with a rasping 25-yard effort in the 51st minute.
But only 11 minutes later, Valverde was outdone by Lemar, who wriggled towards the edge of the D before lashing an unstoppable strike into the bottom-right corner.
Madrid were dominant from that moment on but were unable to carve out too many clear-cut chances, with Gazzaniga repelling their best effort – via Kylian Mbappe – in the 86th minute.
Barca could now go nine points clear at the top of the table on Saturday, while Madrid also face an uphill battle to keep their Champions League prospects alive when they go to Munich on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Valverde’s hot streak not enough for miserable Madrid
Since the start of March, Valverde’s seven goals in all competitions are the most of any player from Europe’s top five leagues, ahead of Raphinha, Deniz Undav and Donyell Malen (all six).
But even an all-action display from Valverde, who also created three chances for his team-mates, was not enough for Madrid at a disgruntled Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
They had 22 shots to Girona’s 10, hitting the target nine times while the visitors only did so twice. Los Blancos also won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.22 to 0.52, but they have now gone three games without a win in all competitions.
Madrid have now conceded at least one goal in their last eight LaLiga matches, their worst such run since another eight-game streak under Zinedine Zidane in September 2019.
