Report, result, goals as Bellingham starts but Blancos drop more points in La Liga
Thomas Lemar’s blistering finish earned Girona a point and extended Real Madrid’s winless run to three matches as Los Blancos handed more momentum to Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a draw at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid, who lost at home to Mallorca in the top flight last Sunday and against visitors Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, went ahead in the 51st minute when Federico Valverde’s drive flew under goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who made several fine saves before the break but may feel he could have stopped the strike.
Federico Valverde strikes low from outside the box and finds the net 💥
Another brilliant effort from the Uruguayan to add to his collection 👏
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/IkCYQRSIh6
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 10, 2026
Following their 1-0 home win over Villarreal on Monday, Girona’s productive week continued when Lemar arrowed in from distance 11 minutes to move his side nine points above the relegation zone and leave Madrid six behind leaders Barcelona, having played a match more.
More to follow
Real Madrid team vs Girona
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (quad) and winger Rodrygo (knee) were sidelined for Madrid but Dani Ceballos was on the bench as the midfielder continued his comeback from a half injury, as was left-back Ferland Mendy, who had a hamstring problem.
Wideman Trent Alexander-Arnold was among the players rested but Jude Bellingham made his first start following an injury that led to England deciding not to risk the midfielder during the most recent international break.
Defenders Eder Militao and Raul Asensio started following injuries. Dani Carvajal, Fran Garcia, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz also came in.
Winger Franco Mastantuono was suspended.
Real Madrid starting XI: Andriy Lunin, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Brahim Diaz, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior
Madrid substitutes: Fran Gonzalez, David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Arda Guler, Gonzalo Garcia, Dani Ceballos, Ferland Mendy, Dean Huijsen, Jesus Fortea, Manuel Angel, Daniel Yanez, Thiago Pitarch
Girona team vs Real Madrid
Goalkeeper Juan Carlos and winger Portu (both knee) and midfielder Donny van de Beek (achilles) remained out for Girona.
Defender Daley Blind was absent with a muscle injury, as was top scorer Vladyslav Vanat with a hamstring issue.
On-loan Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen had a hamstring problem and attacking prospect Javier Sarasa was banned.
Head coach Michel made three changes, bringing in on-loan Manchester City forward Claudio Echeverri for top scorer Vanat.
Central defender Alejandro Frances came in at centre-back, with Thomas Lemar introduced in midfield.
Girona starting XI: Paulo Gazzaniga, Arnau Martinez, Vitor Reis, Alejandro Frances, Alex Moreno, Axel Witsel, Azzedine Ounahi, Thomas Lemar, Ivan Martin, Claudio Echeverri, Viktor Tsygankov
Girona substitutes: Ruben Blanco, Vladyslav Krapyvtsov, Hugo Rincon, Joel Roca, David Lopez, Cristhian Stuani, Fran Beltran, Abel Ruiz, Bryan Gil, Lass Kourouma
Real Madrid vs Girona stats
- Madrid are unbeaten in six editions of the fixture – all in La Liga – and won four in a row without conceding before a 1-1 draw in November
- They had won their previous two home matches against Girona by an aggregate of 6-0, having taken one point from the preceding two such games
- Los Blancos started with the second-best points per home game in this season’s Liga (2.6, with Barcelona on 3)
- A 1-0 defeat to Getafe on March 2 had been the only game of Madrid’s previous eight home Liga matches they had failed to win
- Kylian Mbappe is the top scorer in the top flight (23), four goals ahead of Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi
- Girona have lost four of their seven visits to Madrid, the exceptions being this match and successive visits in February 19 (2-1 win) and October 2022 (1-1 draw)
- Only Real Betishave drawn as many away games as Girona (7, from 15 games) in the 2025/26 Liga
- They are winless in six away matches, although that sequence includes a run of three successive draws against Sevilla, Alaves and Levante that kept them unbeaten on the road between January 31 and March 21
What’s next? Real Madrid, Girona fixtures
Here’s the schedule for Real Madrid for the rest of the season, which could include a two-legged Champions League semi-final starting in April if they overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit in their quarter-final against Bayern.
Dates and kick-off time for matches in May are to be confirmed.
| Date | Match | BST | ET | PT |
| Wed Apr 15 | Bayern Munich (A) | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 |
| Tue Apr 21 | Alaves (H) | 20:30 | 15:30 | 12:30 |
| Fri Apr 24 | Betis (A) | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 |
| Sun May 3 | Espanyol (A) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 10 | Barcelona (A) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Wed May 13 | Oviedo (H) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 17 | Sevilla (A) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 24 | Real Madrid (H) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
Girona’s remaining fixtures look like this. Dates and kick-off time for matches in May are to be confirmed.
| Date | Match | BST | ET | PT |
| Tue Apr 21 | Betis (H) | 20:30 | 15:30 | 12:30 |
| Sat Apr 25 | Valencia (A) | 17:30 | 12:30 | 09:30 |
| Sun May 3 | Mallorca (H) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 10 | Rayo Vallecano (A) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Wed May 13 | Sociedad (H) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 17 | Atletico Madrid (A) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Sun May 24 | Elche (H) | TBC | TBC | TBC |
