With a home loss to a team that had not won in more than two months, Real Madrid wasted all the hard work that had allowed them to move closer to Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
After winning five in a row to cut Barcelona’s lead to six points, Madrid on Sunday were stunned 2-1 by relegation-threatened Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu and are now nine points behind their archrivals in third.
“It’s a shame that we let these points slip by,” Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari said.
Photo: Reuters
“We were coming off a good run and we were getting closer to the lead,” he said.
Girona, who had not won in 13 matches in all competitions and were coming off six straight losses, scored two second-half goals to reverse a 1-0 halftime deficit.
The Catalan club had not won in the league since November last year and had entered the weekend one point above the relegation zone. Their last win in all competitions had been on Dec. 5 last year against Deportivo Alaves in the Copa del Rey.
“It’s a well-deserved prize after several matches without being able to win,” Girona coach Eusebio Sacristan said. “We deserved the victory after the way we played in the second half.”
Girona, who moved to 15th, had lost twice to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey last month, being outscored 7-3. They had eliminated Atletico Madrid in the round-of-16 on away goals after consecutive draws.
The surprise loss dropped Real Madrid to third, with Atletico Madrid moving to second after defeating Rayo Vallecano de Madrid 1-0 on Saturday to halt a two-game losing streak in the league.
Barcelona edged Real Valladolid 1-0 with a penalty converted by Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou to end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
Real Madrid had won seven of their previous eight matches in all competitions, with the only setback a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Solari left Vinicius Jr and Gareth Bale on the bench after they started on Wednesday last week in the 2-1 win at Ajax in the round-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Marcelo, who had been left out of the Ajax game, played from the beginning at the Bernabeu.
Casemiro opened the scoring with a firm header from near the penalty spot in the 25th minute after a cross by Toni Kroos, but Girona equalized with a penalty converted by Cristhian Stuani in the 65th minute after a handball by Real’s Sergio Ramos inside the penalty area.
The visitors moved in front with a 75th-minute header by Portu after Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois initially saved a shot by Anthony Lozano.
Portu had hit the post a few minutes earlier with a booming shot from inside the area.
Solari put on Vinicius Jr and Bale in the second half and Madrid pressed to try to reverse the deficit.
Ramos was sent off in the 90th minute after receiving a second yellow card.
Also on Sunday, it was:
‧ Valencia 0, RCD Espanyol 0
‧ Villarreal 3, Sevilla 0
‧ Real Betis 1, Deportivo Alaves 1
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