Real Madrid dropped crucial points in the La Liga title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by Girona FC at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The result leaves Madrid vulnerable to falling nine points behind league leaders FC Barcelona, who could extend their advantage with victory in their upcoming derby against Espanyol.
After a quiet first half, Federico Valverde broke the deadlock shortly after the restart, striking a low effort from the edge of the box that slipped past Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
However, the visitors responded 11 minutes later through Thomas Lemar, who cut in from the right before unleashing a powerful shot beyond Andriy Lunin to level the score.
Despite deploying a strong lineup, Real Madrid were unable to find a winner. Kylian Mbappe had a penalty appeal waved away, while Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham endured a largely ineffective outing in attack.
The draw extends Madrid’s winless run to three matches in all competitions, following a surprise league defeat to Mallorca and a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who took charge in January after replacing Xabi Alonso, had earlier rotated his squad in the defeat to Mallorca in a bid to prioritise European competition—a decision that has since drawn criticism.
Although he reverted to a stronger lineup against Girona, his side again failed to deliver, raising further concerns over consistency at a critical stage of the season.
With seven matches remaining, Barcelona remain firmly in control of the title race, while Real Madrid must quickly regroup ahead of their decisive Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich in Germany.
The recent run of poor results has intensified scrutiny on Arbeloa, with questions mounting over his ability to steady the team as they pursue both domestic and European ambitions.
