The defending champions were forced to share the spoils in a nervy contest against Girona in La Liga and here’s how fans have reacted.
Real Madrid played hosts to 16th-placed Girona in match week 12 of La Liga on Sunday afternoon, October 30, 2022.
Los Blancos were hoping to bounce back from their mid-week defeat in the Champions League when they faced Girona.
As expected, the hosts assumed control of the game right from kick-off with Luka Modric blazing a shot wide of the Girona goalpost just two minutes into the encounter.
The next real chance in the game came in the 10th minute after Rodrygo’s shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga who turned the ball out for a corner.
The visitors grew into the game and had a chance in the 20th minute when Valery Fernandez’s header in the box flew narrowly wide of Thibaut Courtois’ left post.
Rodrygo came close to scoring again after controlling a neat clever pass on the edge of the penalty area, but his effort smashed against the right post.
In the 39th minute, the visitors had a good chance to open the scoring after Yangel Herrera got clear inside the box.
Herrera sidestepped the keeper before shooting against the crossbar.
The visitors continued to create chances and thought they should have had a penalty in stoppage time of first half after Valentin Castellanos went down in the box, but the referee Mario Lopez was having none of their appeals as both sides headed into the break with the scores deadlocked.
Second Half
The second half resumed and the visitors continued to put up a real fight.
However, it was Carlo Ancelotti’s side who opened the scoring later in the 70th minute after Federico Valverde found Vinicius Junior who made no mistake with a close-range finish to put the Los Blancos 1-0 up.
Two minutes later, second-half substitute Marco Asensio released a tremendous shot towards the roof of the net. However, he was denied courtesy of a brilliant save by Paulo Gazzaniga.
However, Asensio was made to rue his missed chance in the 79th minute after a VAR check adjudged him to have handled the ball in his own box.
Referee Mario Lopez awarded the visitor’s a chance to get back in the game and they obliged, with Christian Stuani stepping up slotting past Thibaut Courtois to level the scoreline for Girona.
Meanwhile, Madrid thought they had gone ahead in the closing stages once more after Rodrygo has the ball in the back of the net in scruppy fashion, but Gazzaniga’s touch on the ball ruled out Rodrygo’s effort which triggered wild reactions from the Los Blancos players.
The hosts suffered a late setback as they were reduced to 10 men after Toni Kroos saw a second yellow for stopping a Girona counter, with Maxi Lopez issuing the German his marching orders.
In what was a nervy finish to the clash at the Bernabeu, Girona held on for a huge point against the defending champions on Sunday afternoon.
Social Media Reactions
Following the result for Real Madrid, fans have taken to social media to praise Vinicus Junior after another impressive showing for the Los Blancos despite the result:
Pulse
