Real Madrid 0-0 Malaga: Ronaldo wasteful as Real held off by the visitors

Ronaldo didn’t have his shooting boots on as he failed to inspire his side against a 10-man Malaga

Real Madrid lost their place at the summit of the La Liga table after they drew 0-0 against Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Los Blancos had Pepe missing at the heart of their defence as Nacho was brought in to replace the Portuguese defender while Jese Rodriguez was handed a place in the starting XI ahead of Mateo Kovacic who was impressive in Real’s 2-1 victory away against Athletic Bilbao.

Things got underway at the Bernabeu in normal fashion with the hosts dominating the possession as expected. Cristiano Ronaldo who was in search of his 500th career goal had 15 chances to achieve that incredible tally, but the starman had a substandard night as he failed to find the back of the net.

The visitors maintained a compact shape as Real found it hard to break them down. Even with Real dictating the proceedings, Malaga threatened on the break and from set pieces and had their fair share of chances.

Juan Carlos had a very good chance to silence the Bernabeu crowd just after the half an hour mark, but the winger struck it waywardly over the bar. Both the keepers were kept relatively busy with Kameni being called into play on couple of occasions by Isco and Jese but the Malaga shot-stopper managed to block their attempts.

Both teams headed into their dressing room at half-time with the scoreline at stalemate as Carlos Kameni kept Malaga in it with a string of excellent saves.

Amrabat sent off as Malaga are reduced to 10 men

The second half resumed in similar fashion with Real seeing more of the ball while the away side looking to catch them on the break. Malaga earned a free-kick a few yards outside Real’s penalty area and almost converted it but for Navas who pulled off another excellent save. Ronaldo came close on two occasions but the three-time Ballon d’Or winner side netted one and saw the other effort stopped by the impenetrable Kameni.

Jese had the best chance near the hourmark but the winger put it over the bar which was his last shot of the game as he hurt himself while taking the shot and was replaced by Kovacic.

Frustrations grew in the Madrid camp as Ronaldo just couldn’t hit the target. The Portuguese star had two more chances to break the deadlock but somehow put his efforts wide of the target.

Kameni kept on denying the Blancos as Benzema’s placed effort was stopped by the Malaga goalie. Real could have had the lead in the 76th minute as Isco tried to squeeze in a shot which went past Kameni. But Weligton managed to clear it off the line which was ruled out as no goal by the official.

Amrabat was given his marching orders minutes later for elbowing Marcelo and with Malaga down to 10 men, Real kept on pushing for the opener as a hoard of opportunities were created but without any end result as frustrations began to creep in at the Spanish capital.

With four minutes added after stoppage time Ronaldo had another chance to be the hero for his side, but the 30-year-old once again squandered a superb Marcelo cross three yards out, only to send a diving header over the bar which summed up a terrible night for the Portuguese.

Following a after full time, Real were halted from extending their winning run as they lose their top spot to FC Barcelona who won their fixture against Las Palmas earlier to retain their place at the summit of the table. Real now have 14 points from 6 games and are in second place one point behind their adversaries.