Girona give Madrid a reality check
Madrid, Feb. 17: Real Madrid threw away their lead and perhaps their hopes of catching Barcelona as Girona came from behind to pull off a shock 2- 1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Girona had not won in 13 matches and looked on course for a seventh straight defeat when Casemiro headed a dominant Madrid ahead in the first half.
But complacency set in, and Girona took full advantage as Cristhian Stuani scored a penalty and Portu nodded in at the back post, leaving the European champions scrapping even for a Rayo Vallecano Atletico Madrid ( Griezmann 74)
Real Sociedad
( Oyarzabal 50, 59, Willian Jose 75) Leganes
Barcelona
( Messi 43- pen) Real Valladolid La Liga’s title race.
“It’s a shame,” Real coach Santiago Solari said. “We drop points and our rivals won. It is a pity because we were on a great run.” Is the league over? “Not at all,” he said.
FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi scores against Reak Valladolid in their La Liga match at Camp Nou in Barcelona on Saturday. 0 1 MESSI LIFTS BARCA Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed another as La Liga leaders Barcelona ground out an unconvincing 1- 0 win over Real Valladolid, while Antoine Griezmann surpassed Fernando Torres with his 130th goal for Atletico Madrid.
Messi’s fitness was again in the spotlight on Saturday after a niggling thigh strain in recent weeks, but he completed the full 90 minutes at the Camp Nou and hit the 30- goal mark at Barcelona for the 11th straight season.