Just days after their intense Champions League quarterfinal clash, Real Madrid were held to a slower and more controlled 1-1 draw against Girona on Friday, May 10, at the Santiago Bernabéu. The result, in Matchday 31 of La Liga, slowed Madrid’s pursuit of league leaders Barcelona, as Los Blancos picked up only one point at home.
The contrast between this match and Tuesday’s European showdown was clear even before kickoff. Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa made several changes to the starting lineup, with goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and forwards Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé the only players to keep their places after the match against Bayern Munich. Despite the heavy rotation, Madrid still controlled most of the game.
As expected, the hosts dominated possession and spent most of the night in Girona’s half. The first major chance came in the sixth minute when Eduardo Camavinga played a perfect through ball for Mbappé. The French forward nearly opened the scoring, but Paulo Gazzaniga reacted quickly and came off his line to stop the attack.
Three minutes later, Brahim Díaz switched play to Mbappé again, and the striker hit a first-time effort that was cleared almost off the line by Álex Moreno, bringing the Bernabéu crowd to life.
Girona’s biggest chance of the first half arrived in the 12th minute. Azzedine Ounahi unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box, forcing Lunin into an excellent save. Midway through the half, the visitors enjoyed a brief spell of possession, and Arnau Martínez got forward for a low shot across goal, though he failed to make clean contact.
Real Madrid continued creating opportunities and nearly scored through a well-worked move involving Éder Militão, Dani Carvajal, and Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan struck first time from inside the area, but Gazzaniga produced a brilliant save to keep the game level.
The second half started with more intensity, and Madrid finally found the breakthrough in the 50th minute. Valverde received the ball in space outside the area and fired a powerful shot past Gazzaniga. Although the strike had pace, the Girona goalkeeper will likely feel he could have done better.
Girona responded just over ten minutes later with an impressive equalizer. Thomas Lemar received the ball near the edge of the box, and with Brahim Díaz giving him too much room, the midfielder drove a powerful shot into the left corner beyond Lunin’s reach.
The draw does little to help Real Madrid in the title race. Los Blancos reduced the gap to Barcelona from seven points to six, but the Catalan side still had a match to play against Espanyol, currently sitting 10th in the table. Madrid will now hope for dropped points from their rivals to keep the title fight alive heading into the final stretch of the season.
Next up for Arbeloa’s side is what could be their toughest challenge of the year so far. Real Madrid travel to Germany needing to overturn a 2-1 defeat against Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. The winner will advance to face either Liverpool or PSG in the semifinals.
