Kylian Mbappe endured an off night for Real Madrid as they slumped to a 1-1 draw with Girona that might see the title fade away for good. Federico Valverde's second half strike was countered by a Thomas Lemar goal to see the spoils shared at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos could trail Barcelona by nine points - with seven games to go - if their bitter rivals win on Saturday.
Madrid were in control for much of the first half. Alvaro Arbeloa made changes at the back, but kept his main men in attack - and they created in bunches. Vinicius came close repeatedly, only to be denied by Paulo Gazzaniga. Mbappe, meanwhile, was inconsistent - and repeatedly failed to connect in front of goal. Girona had their forays on the break here and there, but a couple of neat stops from reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin kept them out.
Yet it was a goalkeeping error that changed things. Valverde unleashed a rather speculative strike, which Gazzaniga failed to deal with. Girona worked their way back into the game, though. Thomas Lemar leveled things on the hour mark, smashing the ball past a helpless Lunin after finding himself far too open at the top of the box.
Los Blancos responded with a series of changes. But Girona were otherwise happy to sit on the result. Mbappe had one last chance, yet fired right at the goalkeeper - a moment that rather encapsulated a disappointing night in Madrid. They will need a miracle to hunt down Barcelona in the title race now.
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