Real Madrid vs Eibar. Spanish La Liga.
Santiago BernabeuAttendance67,554.
Sunday 2 October 2016 21:49, UK
Gareth Bale scored his 50th La Liga goal but Real Madrid were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Eibar at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
Fran Rico headed Eibar ahead in the early stages, before they were pegged back by Bale shortly afterwards, who reached a half century of strikes in just 87 appearances.
It was a fourth straight draw in all competitions for Zinedine Zidane's side, who were also held by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek.
The result means they fail to take top spot in La Liga back from rivals Atletico Madrid, who won 2-0 at Valencia earlier in the day.
Eibar had never scored against Real Madrid in La Liga, but that changed after less than six minutes at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
Ander Capa whipped the ball in from the right and Rico was on hand in the middle of the area to power a header past Keylor Navas, who probably should have done a lot better with his attempt to keep it out.
The goal seemed to wake Real up a bit and they found the equaliser just 11 minutes later as Ronaldo danced down the left before dinking a high ball up to Bale at the far post, with the Welshman rising highest to nod the ball home.
Real continued to dominate possession but struggled to create many more clear-cut chances in the first half, with the best opportunities after the goals probably falling to Eibar, who saw Pedro Leon's low drive kept out by Navas two minutes after the equaliser.
Zidane made two changes for the start of the second half and one of those, Alvaro Morata, came very close to putting Real ahead after 55 minutes.
The Spanish striker, on for the ineffective Karim Benzema, reacted quickly after Ronaldo's header had been saved, but he was correctly ruled out for offside after poking the ball into the roof of the net.
Five minutes later Real had another excellent chance almost out of nowhere as Bale nearly scored a stunning header from 18 yards after getting across his man, but saw his powerful effort rattle the post and bounce clear of goal.
Their best chance to find the winner, though, fell to Ronaldo after 69 minutes, but he managed to head over with the goal at his mercy after Isco had pulled the ball back into his path.
It leaves Real Madrid second in the table behind Atletico, although they're both on 15 points, while Barcelona are fourth after losing 4-3 at Celta Vigo later on Sunday.
