Real Madrid missed the chance to return to the top of La Liga following a 0-0 draw at home to Malaga on Saturday.
Barcelona's 2-1 win over Las Palmas had knocked Los Blancos down to second, but Rafael Benitez's side would have been confident of returning to the summit against a Malaga side that had not scored a single league goal all season.
Despite having 31 attempts, the hosts could not find the back of the net against a Carlos Kameni-inspired Malaga, who played the final 15 minutes with 10 men following Nordin Amrabat's red card.
Here, Sports Mole has dissected the incredible 90 minutes of action between the two teams.
Match statistics
REAL MADRID
Shots: 31
On target: 9
Possession: 65%
Corners: 12
Fouls: 8
MALAGA
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 35%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
Quite how Real Madrid failed to win this match is one of the biggest mysteries in recent seasons. Without even watching what actually occurred, one look at the statistics tells the story. The hosts had 31 attempts at the Bernabeu, nine of which were on target. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Cristiano Ronaldo had four or five absolute sitters by the standards of any player, but the Portuguese somehow could not find the back of the net. It is the type of game that Real Madrid would have won 99 times out of 100 and luckily for Malaga, this was indeed the one exception to the rule.
That said, Malaga also had 12 attempts of their own during what was an excellent away performance and on another evening, they would have collected all the points. When taking into account the work-rate and desire that Malaga showed, it could well be argued that the visitors deserved to secure the most unlikely of points. However, when actually dissecting what occurred in terms of chances created and the overall balance of the game, it is really hard to argue that Real Madrid did not deserve to win.
Real Madrid's performance
There is no question that Benitez's team are struggling with injuries at the moment, with the likes of Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Danilo and Sergio Ramos all absentees that would expect to make Real Madrid's strongest XI. That said, the hosts would still have fancied to collect all the points in comfortable fashion here. The home side could well have been a couple of goals ahead in the opening 10 minutes, but Jese Rodriguez and Ronaldo both missed good opportunities.
There was a lull in the match from the 10th minute to the 31st, but another Ronaldo chance just past the 30-minute mark set off another period of opportunities, with both teams creating in the final third. Jese, Ronaldo and Isco all had chances to put Real Madrid ahead in the latter stages of the first period, but it was not all one-way traffic, with Amrabat and Juan Carlos both coming close for Malaga. It was goalless at the break, but the second 45 minutes certainly promised a few goals.
Twice Real Madrid had efforts cleared off the line in the second half, while a truly wonderful performance from Malaga's goalkeeper kept out efforts from the likes of Karim Benzema and Isco. The story of Real Madrid's performance has to be Ronaldo, however, who missed two or three more incredible opportunities, in addition to some half-chances, late on. It is difficult to be too critical of Real Madrid for their overall performance when considering the chances that they created against what was a strong defence, but their inability to find the back of the net made it a very frustrating evening.
Malaga's performance
Entering this match, Malaga had not scored a single league goal this season and while that is still the case, head coach Javi Gracia will be delighted with his team's performance in Madrid. The Malaga boss made five changes to the XI that lost to Villarreal last time out and among those was Pablo Fornals, who came in for his full debut. The visitors had to repel some early pressure from Real Madrid, but had an outstanding chance of their own in the seventh minute when Recio found all sorts of space inside the opposition box, only to head straight at Keylor Navas, who had a busy evening between the sticks.
It is difficult to put into words just how big a part Kameni played for the away side, but each member of their back four - Roberto Rosales, Marcos Angeleri, Weligton and Miguel Torres - were also excellent. Amrabat's evening ended in disappointment following a red card for an elbow on Marcelo, but the Turkish international was a terror during his time on the field and he set up Malaga's best chance of the second period, only for Carlos to fire wide of the post from close range.
Last-ditch defending and strong goalkeeping managed to keep Malaga's clean sheet in tact, but they were a threat going forward for long spells and indeed had chances to nick all the points late on. Ricardo Horta might well have won it for the visitors in stoppage time, but his low strike just deflected wide of the post. The Andalusian side are still winless and indeed goalless in Spain's top flight this season, but their performance on a ground where they have never won in Spain's top flight will give them confidence for the games to come. This was much more like it from the White and Sky Blues, that is for sure.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Carlos Kameni: The 31-year-old is, without question, one of the finest shot-stoppers in Spain's top flight and that was on full show in Madrid. The Cameroon international made a number of routine saves, but it was those that he had no right to save that made it such an outstanding performance. Malaga's defensive effort as a whole was excellent, but Kameni's contribution to the point cannot be downplayed.
Biggest gaffe
Ronaldo was guilty of missing a number of incredible chances for the home side and could well have been included in this particular category, but Amrabat's red card has to be selected.
The Malaga forward was having an excellent game for the visitors, with his pace and movement causing all sorts of problems. However, he ruined his display late on when he picked up a red card for an elbow on Marcelo. It was a needless act from the forward, who could well have cost his team in the latter stages.
Referee performance
It was certainly a busy evening for referee Jose Gonzalez, who issued seven yellow cards and one red at the Bernabeu. All of the bookings were fairly routine, while it was indeed the correct call to send off Amrabat for his elbow on Marcelo. Gonzalez was not prepared to listen to dissent from any of the players and he was consistent in his calls, which made it a strong and authoritative performance from the official.
What next?
Real Madrid: Los Blancos return to Champions League action away to Malmo on Wednesday. Their next La Liga match is away to capital rivals Atletico Madrid next weekend.
Malaga: Next up for winless Malaga is a home game against Real Sociedad next Saturday.
Matt Law
