MADRID: Real Madrid surrendered two crucial points in the title race but still maintained a one-point lead over second-placed Barcelona after Girona held them to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in LaLiga.

After a goalless first half,  Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring for the home side in the 70th minute, but 10 minutes later, a penalty from Cristhian Stuani wiped out their lead.

Both teams had opportunities in the first half, with Real’s Rodrygo, who was in charge of the attack in place of Karim Benzema, coming closest to scoring a goal but his shot hit the post.

Real had struggled for more than an hour, but they finally found success when Federico Valverde was able to push the ball into the six-yard box where Vinicius was waiting to tap it into the nets.

Stuani scored the equalizer in the 80th minute when the referee awarded Girona a penalty after a VAR check which determined that a set piece struck Marco Asensio’s arm.

Rodrygo thought he had scored the winner for his side late on at the second attempt after Paulo Gazzaniga saved his initial shot. But his effort was disallowed as Gazzaniga was deemed to have control of the ball, with his hand on the ball, when Rodrygo kicked it in.

Meanwhile, in the second fixture of the day, Atheltic Club edged past Villareal 1-0 thanks to a superb effort by Inaki Williams in the 59th minute.

At Anoeta Stadium, however, home team Real Sociedad were outclassed by Real Betis 2-0 with late strikes by Juan Cruz and Borja Iglesias.

The action-filled matches of LaLiga 2022-23 are being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and is simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

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