Match ends, Real Madrid 1, Eibar 1.
Real MadridReal Madrid1EibarEibar1
A disjointed Real Madrid saw their winless streak extend to four games as Eibar held them to a draw at home.
The visitors took a shock early lead, Fran Rico taking advantage of sloppy marking to head past Keylor Navas.
Gareth Bale equalised with his 50th La Liga goal shortly after, rising to meet Cristiano Ronaldo's lofted delivery.
Zinedine Zidane made changes in both attack and defence at the interval but his side continued to spurn numerous chances as Eibar held firm.
A win would have restored Real as league leaders but a fourth successive draw in all competitions means they trail Atletico Madrid on goal difference after their city rivals beat Valencia 2-0 away.
Muddled Madrid
With Sergio Ramos rested, the flaws in Real's defence were quickly exploited by the visitors as Rico drifted into the area unchecked to divert Ander Capa's cross beyond Navas' weak attempted save.
In attack, the hosts often resorted to deep crosses from wide positions and although that approach worked in the 17th minute as Ronaldo's ball to the back post was headed in by Bale, it was often too easy for an organised Eibar to repel.
At the break, Zidane removed error-prone central defender Raphael Varane and ineffectual forward Karim Benzema in favour of Nacho and Alvaro Morata, who had a goal rightly disallowed for offside on 54 minutes.
The hosts' muddled thinking was epitomised moments later as Isco inexplicably checked back when clear through on goal and the ball broke to Morata, who tried to round the keeper instead of shooting and was booked for his subsequent dive.
A passive Real badly missed the control and movement of injured midfielders Casemiro and Luka Modric - with the latter also facing a longer spell on the sidelines than first expected after having knee surgery on Sunday.
50 for Bale
On an otherwise frustrating day, Bale underlined his importance to Real as he scored his 50th goal in 87 league games for the club.
The Wales international almost put his side ahead on the hour as he produced remarkable power on a stooped header from the edge of area, which beat Eibar keeper Asier Riesgo but rebounded off the inside of the post.
Before Bale's effort, a well-drilled Eibar side also had chances to claim more than a point as Pedro Leon was set free down the right only to rush his attempt, which dribbled into Navas' arms.
And the visitors deserved to survive the final stages as Mauro dos Santos almost headed a corner beyond Riesgo, with Real unable to arrest their recent slump in front of a jeering Bernabeu crowd.
'We are not in crisis'
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said: "We are not in crisis, we're only in October. What we need to do is improve, we can't lose our minds over this.
"I'm not going to go crazy and neither are my players. All I can see is that we need to work harder and be more intense at the start of games.
"We leave with a bad taste in the mouth. We let our opponents play in the first half and we knew that they could score like that and we didn't deal with it.
"We can't blame fitness issues, we just need to work with more intensity, starting with me. When the players return from international duty we have to turn this around, we can't continue like this."
Line-ups
Real Madrid
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Navas
- 2CarvajalBooked at 44mins
- 3Pepe
- 5VaraneSubstituted forNachoat 45'minutes
- 23Danilo
- 22IscoSubstituted forAsensioat 72'minutes
- 8KroosBooked at 73mins
- 16Kovacic
- 11BaleBooked at 44mins
- 9BenzemaSubstituted forMorataat 45'minutesBooked at 56mins
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
Substitutes
- 6Nacho
- 13Casilla
- 17Vázquez
- 18Mariano
- 20Asensio
- 21Morata
Eibar
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 13Riesgo
- 7Capa
- 15Dos Santos
- 20LejeuneBooked at 57mins
- 19Luna
- 14García CarrilloBooked at 48mins
- 21Sánchez GilSubstituted forGonzález Moralesat 90+2'minutes
- 5EscalanteBooked at 29mins
- 16Rico CastroBooked at 84mins
- 11PeñaBooked at 71minsSubstituted forDias Correiaat 87'minutes
- 9Enrich AmetllerSubstituted forKikeat 76'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Rodríguez Oterino
- 4Ramis
- 8Inui
- 17Kike
- 23Juncà
- 24González Morales
- 25Dias Correia
- Referee:
- Juan Martínez Munuera
- Attendance:
- 67,554
Match Stats
Home TeamReal MadridAway TeamEibar
- Possession
- Home65%
- Away35%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away8
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away4
- Corners
- Home7
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home8
- Away15
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Real Madrid 1, Eibar 1.
Substitution
Substitution, Eibar. Adrián replaces Pedro León.
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Pepe (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Bebé (Eibar).
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Offside, Real Madrid. Pepe tries a through ball, but Gareth Bale is caught offside.
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Offside, Real Madrid. Mateo Kovacic tries a through ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Bebé (Eibar) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left misses to the left. Assisted by Kike.
Substitution
Substitution, Eibar. Bebé replaces Rubén Peña.
Post update
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Ander Capa.
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Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by Gareth Bale.
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Danilo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Kike (Eibar).
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Attempt missed. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Daniel Carvajal with a cross.
Booking
Fran Rico (Eibar) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Fran Rico (Eibar).
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Foul by Nacho (Real Madrid).
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Kike (Eibar) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Mauro Dos Santos (Eibar) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Pedro León with a cross following a corner.
