Madrid: Real Madrid could see its Spanish league lead reduced after being held to a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, while last-place Almeria made history for the wrong reason by becoming the first team to go 28 straight games without a league win.
Almeria drew 1-1 at Granada for its 25th consecutive winless game this season. It also hadn’t won its last three matches last season.
Madrid was frustrated in its first match since it emerged that Kylian Mbappe will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, opening the door for another attempt by the Spanish powerhouse to sign the France star.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was asked if all the talk about the possible signing of Mbappe had affected his team.
“When has this team lacked concentration?” Ancelotti said. “It’s tough to say anything bad about this team this season.”
Joselu put Madrid ahead only three minutes into the match against its southern Madrid rival, but the hosts equalized through a penalty kick converted by Ra l de Tom s in the 27th.
The draw moved Madrid six points clear of second-place Girona, which visits fifth-place Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
Third-place Barcelona, which won 2-1 at Celta Vigo on Saturday with a stoppage-time penalty kick converted by Robert Lewandowski, was eight points behind Madrid. Fourth-place Atletico Madrid, which routed Las Palmas 5-0 at home Saturday, was 11 points off the lead.
It was a disappointing result for Madrid against a Rayo team that had lost three consecutive league matches and hasn’t won in seven straight.
“We want to win every game, but to win the league you can’t lose the games you can’t win,” Ancelotti said.
“Sometimes there are draws that hurt, but they can be a positive step toward winning the league.”
Real Madrid remains unbeaten in its last 19 league games, with 14 wins and five draws. It failed to scored only once, in a 0-0 draw against Rayo in November.
Madrid was still without Jude Bellingham, who sprained his ankle in the win against Girona last weekend. Brahim Diaz replaced him again, playing alongside Vinicius Junior in attack.
Luka Modric, who hasn’t started often this season, was in midfield, while Aur lien Tchouam ni again improvised as a central defender alongside Nacho Hernendez.
Toni Kroos came off the bench in the second half to make his 450th appearance with Madrid.
Rayo was debuting coach igo Pirez, the 36-year-old former midfielder who is on his first stint as a head coach. He replaced Francisco Rodr guez following a run of poor results.
The club’s winless streak at home is now at 10 consecutive games.