La Liga chasers throw away points

Madrid – Presented with a chance to gain ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, both Girona and then Barcelona tamely surrendered points on Sunday.

After Real Madrid drew in Valencia the night before, surprising title challengers Girona had a chance to reverse their recent slump and regain some ground.

But they continued to subside as they lost 1-0 at Mallorca.

That gave giant Catalan rivals Barcelona a chance to take second, but they drew 0-0 in Bilbao in the late game.

Girona remained second, seven points behind Real with Barcelona another point behind.

Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on fourth as they beat Betis 2-1.

On Saturday, Real Madrid drew 2-2 at Valencia in a game that ended in controversy as Jude Bellingham, who thought he had just scored the winner, was sent off for protesting after his strike was ruled out because the referee had blown the final whistle.

In Palma on Sunday, Mallorca, fresh from reaching the Copa del Rey final, scored the only goal after 33 minutes.

Following a corner, the ball rebounded off Mallorca’s Cyle Larin and fell to Jose-Manuel Copete in space less than 10 metres out. The defender smashed a shot in off the underside of the bar.

Girona enjoyed a slight edge in possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances as they failed to score for the third time in five games.

“I am disappointed with the result but not with the team’s attitude,” said Girona coach Michel Sanchez.

The victory pulled Mallorca up to 15th, eight points clear of the relegation places.

Barcelona ended their visit to Bilbao playing out an uneventful goalless draw at walking pace.

“We didn’t play a good game, we didn’t attack well. We didn’t play our best. The match required more from us,” said Xavi.

Barcelona also suffered potentially costly injuries to Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, who went off in tears. –