Many fans have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts after Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona in La Liga.
Real Madrid faced Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu in their 12th La Liga match of the season today (30th October). They went into the game looking to reclaim their place at the top of the table.
Los Blancos were also keen to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League. However, the match ultimately ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw for the hosts.
Girona managed to keep Carlo Ancelotti’s men at bay in the first half, restricting them to just long-range efforts. They also had the best chances in the first period of the game, but failed to capitalize on them.
While the scoreline remained at 0-0 for the first 25 minutes of the second half, Vinicius Jr. finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. Federico Valverde set the Brazil international up for the goal following fine build-up play by Real Madrid.
Marco Asensio had a chance to double Los Blancos’ lead just two minutes later, but a brilliant save from Paulo Gazzaniga denied him. He went on to rue the missed chance as Girona nullified Vinicius’ goal in the 80th minute.
Cristhian Stuani found the back of the net for the visitors from the penalty spot with 10 minutes remaining on the clock. However, the circumstances in which Girona were awarded the penalty were controversial.
The referee decided to give Girona a penalty after a cross hit Asensio in the arm, leaving Real Madrid fans infuriated. Stuani, though, grabbed the chance with both hands and buried the spot-kick.
Rodrygo then put the ball in the back of the net in the 89th minute, but had the goal disallowed. The referee chalked it off as Girona goalkeeper Gazzaniga had his hand on the ball when the Brazilian poked it in.
Things got more frustrating for Ancelotti and Co. when Toni Kroos was given marching orders in the first minute of injury time. The German, who was shown a yellow card for a foul early on in the half, was booked for the second time after he stopped a breakaway.
Kroos thus received his first La Liga red card in 253 appearances, while Real Madrid ended the game with 10 men. Girona managed to hold on and the two sides shared the spoils.
The Bernabeu outfit managed to achieve what they set out to do, reclaiming their place at the top of the table. However, the draw means that Barcelona are just one point behind them.
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