Real Madrid 1-1 Eibar





Cristiano Ronaldo missed several chances as Real Madrid were frustrated by Eibar at the Bernabeu

A disjointed Real Madrid saw their winless streak extend to four games as Eibar held them to a draw at home.

The visitors took a shock early lead, Fran Rico taking advantage of sloppy marking to head past Keylor Navas.

Gareth Bale equalised with his 50th La Liga goal shortly after, rising to meet Cristiano Ronaldo's lofted delivery.

Zinedine Zidane made changes in both attack and defence at the interval but his side continued to spurn numerous chances as Eibar held firm.

A win would have restored Real as league leaders but a fourth successive draw in all competitions means they trail Atletico Madrid on goal difference after their city rivals beat Valencia 2-0 away.

And Real could fall further behind if Barcelona beat Celta Vigo later on Sunday.
Muddled Madrid

With Sergio Ramos rested, the flaws in Real's defence were quickly exploited by the visitors as Rico drifted into the area unchecked to divert Ander Capa's cross beyond Navas' weak attempted save.

In attack, the hosts often resorted to deep crosses from wide positions and though that approach worked in the 17th minute as Ronaldo's ball to the back post was headed in by Bale, it was often too easy for an organised Eibar to repel.

At the break, Zidane removed the error-prone Raphael Varane and ineffectual Karim Benzema in favour of Nacho and Alvaro Morata, who had a goal rightly disallowed for offside on 54 minutes.

The hosts' muddled thinking was epitomised moments later as Isco inexplicably checked back when clear through on goal and the ball broke to Morata who tried to round the keeper instead of shooting and was booked for his subsequent dive.

A passive Real badly missed the control and movement of injured midfielders Casemiro and Luka Modric - with the latter also due for a longer spell on the sidelines than first expected after undergoing knee surgery on Sunday.