Girona 1-1 Real Madrid: Alonso's side frustrated in another LaLiga draw
Real Madrid missed their chance to reclaim top spot in LaLiga as they dropped points in another disappointing draw with Girona on Sunday.
Real Madrid were held to their third-straight draw in LaLiga as they came back from behind to salvage a point in a 1-1 stalemate with Girona on Sunday.
Xabi Alonso's side started brightly at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi and enjoyed an opening 15-minute spell during which they squandered a number of golden chances.
Kylian Mbappe twice blazed wide as Girona struggled to keep hold of the ball, while Vinicius Junior's curling effort skimmed just over the crossbar in the 23rd minute.
Eder Militao saw a towering header parried by Paulo Gazzaniga before Mbappe thought he had given Madrid the lead five minutes before the break, only for the goal to be ruled out for a handball against the Frenchman after a VAR review.
Girona took full advantage of the reprieve, as they broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time through Azzedine Ounahi, who sent a stunning strike into the top corner.
Vinicius then had the ball in the net in the 61st minute, but Madrid once again saw the goal disallowed as the Brazilian strayed into an offside position in the build-up.
Madrid were awarded a penalty moments later as Hugo Rincon brought Vinicius down inside the box, and Mbappe restored parity from the spot with a clinical finish into the bottom-left corner.
The visitors searched far and wide for a winner as Girona were forced to hold on, with the influential Vinicius and Mbappe spurning over five chances between them in the dying minutes.
Mbappe very nearly delivered a winning goal with the final kick of the match, but his bending shot bounced inches wide of the far post, leaving Madrid in second place, trailing rivals Barcelona by one point.
Data Debrief: Missed chances cost Madrid
For all the finishing prowess of Mbappe and Vinicius, Sunday's outing is one both forwards will want to forget as soon as possible.
Madrid managed 25 shots in total, with only Real Betis against Levante (28) having more in a LaLiga match without securing a league victory this season, but Alonso's men only hit the target four times in this match. Of those efforts, five came from Mbappe (one on target) and seven from Vinicius (one on target).
Los Blancos' profligacy left them with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.62, compared to Girona's 1.13 from 10 attempts (four on target).
It means Madrid have now drawn their last three LaLiga matches, the first time they have recorded three consecutive stalemates in a single league season since December 2019 under Zinedine Zidane (D3).
