Real Madrid dropped further points in the La Liga title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by Girona FC at the Santiago Bernabéu, a result that could allow FC Barcelona to open up a nine-point lead at the summit.
Madrid took the lead shortly after the restart through Federico Valverde, who struck a low effort from the edge of the area that beat goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga. However, Girona responded 11 minutes later, with Thomas Lemar cutting in from the right before firing past Andriy Lunin.
Despite deploying a strong starting lineup, Madrid were unable to find a winner. Kylian Mbappé had a penalty appeal waved away, while Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham endured a quiet outing in attack.
The result extends Madrid’s winless run to three matches across all competitions, following a league defeat to Mallorca and a 2-1 loss to FC Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who took over from Xabi Alonso in January, had previously rotated his squad against Mallorca in preparation for European fixtures—a decision that proved costly. Although he reverted to a stronger side against 12th-placed Girona, his team once again failed to deliver.
With seven matches remaining, Barcelona remain firmly in control of the title race, while Madrid must now regroup ahead of their decisive Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich in Germany.
The recent dip in form has intensified scrutiny on Arbeloa, whose tenure has already been marked by three defeats and an unconvincing European campaign, raising questions about his ability to steady the team at a critical stage of the season.
