Real Madrid Slip In Title Race With Draw At Getafe

Exhausted Real Madrid side scraped a 0-0 draw at struggling Getafe on Sunday, falling three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, and one point ahead of Barcelona in the LaLiga title race.

Real beat Barcelona 2-1 last week and overcame Liverpool in midweek to reach the Champions League semifinals but were crippled by the absence of nine players due to either injury, suspension or Covid-19 positives.

Forward Mariano had an early goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review but Getafe had far more and far better opportunities, hitting the woodwork in the first half and being thwarted by two fine saves from Thibaut Courtois in the second.

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The draw interrupted a run of four straight league wins for Zinedine Zidane's side and left them second on 67 points after 31 games, three behind leaders Atletico who thrashed Eibar 5-0 earlier in the day.

Getafe are 15th on 31 points, three above the relegation zone.

"I don't see this as two points dropped, it's always difficult to come here," said Real defender Marcelo.

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"We knew what it would be like here, the pitch was very dry and we couldn't get the ball moving quickly. We have hardly any time to rest but we have to keep on giving everything, that's what football is like right now."

Despite the many absences, Zidane chose to start without top scorer Karim Benzema and left Toni Kroos on the bench, handing a first start to defender Victor Chust and a debut for 20-year-old midfielder Antonio Blanco from the bench.