Madrid, April 11 – Real Madrid effectively conceded the La Liga title for this season on Friday night after drawing 1-1 against Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The draw leaves Real Madrid six points behind FC Barcelona in the standings with seven games remaining, with Barcelona having the opportunity to extend their lead to nine points with a victory at home against Espanyol on Saturday evening, according to Xinhua.
Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa made seven changes to the team that lost 2-1 at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the Champions League, with Eder Militao, Raul Asencio, Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, and Brahim Diaz among those starting, while Arda Guler was rested in preparation for Wednesday's return leg.
The first half saw chances for both sides, with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius, and Federico Valverde all coming close for Real Madrid, while Andriy Lunin did well to frustrate Azzedine Ounahi, and Claudio Echeverri came close for Girona in the final minutes.
Valverde put Real Madrid ahead in the 51st minute with a shot from outside the penalty area that Girona goalkeeper Pablo Gazzaniga struggled to stop, and Mbappe was close to making it 2-0 soon after, but Girona equalized just after the hour mark.
Former Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Lemar was allowed to collect the ball outside the Real Madrid penalty area, step forward, and beat Lunin with a left-foot shot into the corner of the goal.
With the crowd in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium growing increasingly impatient, Arbeloa made several changes, but it was not enough, as Girona held on for a point that helps their effort to avoid relegation.