La Liga leaders Real Madrid gave Girona and Barcelona encouragement in the fight for the Spanish championship by losing points in a stalemate with their rivals Rayo Vallecano.
The visitors got off to a quick start, taking the lead when Joselu extended to accept a square pass from Fede Valverde.
However, Rayo equalized by a penalty kick from Raul de Tomas after Eduardo Camavinga was flagged to have handled by the visual assistant referee (VAR).
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Real was only able to produce a point and was left with little else.
The 35-time La Liga winners increased their lead over Girona, who are in second place and will visit Athletic Bilbao on Monday, to six points thanks to the draw.
This season, Carlo Ancelotti’s team has only lost once in the league, and Jude Bellingham, an England midfielder, was sidelined due to injury for the brief journey to Rayo Vallecano.
The visitors had a strong start, but they were penalised when Rayo levelled halfway through the first half and they were unable to extend their lead.
That altered the energy and atmosphere at the boisterous Estadio de Vallecas.
For the first time, Rayo was led by 36-year-old Inigo Perez as manager, and they showed discipline and organisation by limiting Real to few scoring opportunities.
After being rested, German midfielder Toni Kroos came close to winning the game with a free shot that Rayo goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski deflected wide.
Before being sent off with seconds remaining for a second yellow card, after shrugging off an opponent after play had halted, Dani Carvajal also had a shot saved in injury time.
